


Sunlit Future

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: NaMi [5]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Civil War, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Magical Accidents, Marriage, Memories, Missions Gone Wrong, Promises, Sickness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Sequel to Shadowed Past (But largely stand alone). A series of one-shot tales about Natsu and Mira's marriage, and their kids within the general craziness that is Fairy Tail.





	1. Chapter 1

    Natsu hummed softly to himself as he moved around the bedroom as he unpacked his rucksack, neatly stepping around the toys that were scattered across the carpet with a fond smile. He had been away for nearly three weeks on a mission, and he was relieved beyond belief to be home once more, and he was eager to finish so that he could join Mira and the Twins downstairs. Unfortunately, his wife refused to let him put off the unpacking knowing that if he could get away with it, his bag would remain as it was until the next time he went on a job.

   Reaching into the bag, he paused as he pulled out the pair of soft-toys he had picked up in Crocus on the way back, smiling softly as he traced the wings on the cuddly Dragons knowing that Mira was going to scold him for buying more toys as the twins already had enough to open up their own toyshop. However, he hadn’t been able to resist, and he knew that he would be able to charm his way out of trouble if it came to it. Gently he set them aside on the bed ready to take down when he went, before forcing himself to focus on putting away the rest of his clothing with an aggrieved sigh. He knew why Mira insisted on it, but damn it, but he wanted to play with his children already because three weeks was really too long, even if they did need the Jewels.

“Natsu!” Mira’s shout startled him, and for a brief second, he froze before spinning and dashing out of the door. She hadn’t sounded afraid, but there was an edge to her voice that had worried him, and he ran down the stairs, taking the steps a couple at a time and barely avoided crashing into the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

“Mira? What’s wro…” He asked urgently as he burst into the living room only to freeze midstride, blinking dumbly at the sight that met his eyes and his mouth dropped slightly when it didn’t disappear, and there was a slight waver in his voice as he asked. “Is that…?”

“Your daughter?” Mira asked arching an eyebrow at him, but there was an amused smile playing across her lips as she steadied her hold on Mercury who was happily playing with her hair, seemingly unconcerned with the stir his sister was causing. “Yep.”

“I…” Natsu trailed off helplessly unsure of what there was to say in this situation before he turned his gaze back to his daughter, or rather the tiny rose-coloured dragon curled up in the playpen where his daughter had been playing only a little while before. Almost in a daze, he reached out towards her before pausing and shooting a partially worried, partially guilty look at Mira who shook her head slightly as she caught the expression.

“Don’t get so flustered,” she said soothingly as she moved to stand next to him, carefully freeing one hand to lay against his arm and feeling the faint trembling that was wracking his body and she knew immediately what was bothering him. “We knew that if they were magical, it would show early. It was just a surprise that’s all.” There had never been any doubt in her mind that their children would be magical and after hearing how early his magic had developed, she had been expecting something like this. Although she had to admit walking into the room to find that their daughter had managed to transform herself into a dragon had not entered even her wildest thoughts, although considering who her father was, she probably should have expected it.

“I guess,” Natsu mumbled hearing the sincerity and lack of anger in her voice and this time as he glanced back at Sakura who was beginning to stir there was a small smile on his face which only widened as he added. “I’m glad she has your magic though.” “

“She’s definitely your daughter though,” Mira said, unable to deny the fact that she was also pleased that at least one of their children had inherited her magic. Although privately she hoped that meant that Mercury would have Natsu’s, although she knew that Natsu wouldn’t care either way. “Turning into a dragon,” she added with a teasing expression and a slight eye roll, she definitely should have been expecting something like this considering that Natsu was the father.

“I haven’t been here for the last few weeks, you can’t blame me for this!” Natsu protested, easily able to tell that she wasn’t annoyed by the form that Sakura’s magic had taken, but he couldn’t see how he could have been responsible for this. Apart from the magic involved in making him a Dragon-slayer, there was no way he could have caused this, but from what Porlysuica had said when the twins were born that aspect wouldn’t cross over to them as the spell had been cast on him and not them.

“Who’s the one that’s always telling them stories about Dragons?” Mira pointed out with a smile, and Natsu blushed slightly before hanging his head unable to argue with her words. He was always telling the twins stories of Dragons, and whenever he was away he was collecting new storybooks to that featured new Dragon stories to bring back for them, but he had never imagined that it would lead to this.

“ I just want them to know about Dragons…” He muttered avoiding her gaze as he glanced down at Sakura, and a sad expression flickered across his face as he quietly added. “In case they ever get to meet Igneel.” Even after all these years, he hoped that he would eventually find his foster-father, and he longed for the opportunity to show off his family to the Dragon that had taught what family meant, and Mira’s expression softened at his words.

“I know, and they love those stories,” She said gently, smiling as Mercury babbled something and hiding her wince as he yanked on her hair, carefully reaching to free herself although she knew it wouldn’t take long for him to reclaim the lock. “They never pay as much attention to any other stories we tell them. I guess Sakura liked them more than we realised.” Lisanna was often complaining about the fact that her niece and nephew were never particularly interested in the many animal tales that she would share with them, although they did love watching her transformations.

“Yeah,” Natsu’s reply was quiet, and she knew that he was still bothered by the sudden development even though it was mainly hidden for the moment. Before she could try and offer him any further reassurance, he was already moving, and she watched as he cautiously approached Sakura, smiling when their daughter slowly raised her head and blinked sleepily up at him with jewel-like olive eyes. Natsu’s expression was tender as he gently scooped the little Dragon into his arms, fingers gently moving to stoke across surprisingly soft scales before he rose and turned to look at Mira expectantly. “Any idea how to get her to change back?”

“No,” Mira replied with a small frown as she considered her daughter as Natsu cradled her gently in his arms, his lips curving into a sweet smile when the sleepy Dragonet curled against him with a small huff.

“No?” Natsu echoed disbelievingly as he glanced at her with wide eyes.

“She’s a little young for me to explain the principles of Take-overs to,” Mira pointed out with a little bit of an edge to her voice, pausing as Mercury began to fuss in her arms and she turned to look down at him with a warm smile. “Sorry, little one,” she said softly, reaching to fiddle with her necklace for a second and a moment later she felt him grabbing at it, shaking her head at how easy he was to distract before turning her attention back to Natsu and Sakura.

“Then what do we do?” Natsu asked with a worried expression, although his eyes were soft as he watched his son playing with the necklace for a moment before shifting his attention back to Sakura who was nearly asleep once more, obviously exhausted from her unintended use of magic.

“As cute as she is, I don’t think we want her stuck like this.”

“Try talking to her…” Mira suggested hesitantly, casting her mind back to when she, Lisanna and Elfman had first started using their magic and trying to remember what had worked for them. However, they had all been older than Sakura was, and they had been able to coach each other back into their proper forms. Natsu shot her a slightly doubtful look before taking a deep breath and turning his attention back to his sleepy Dragonet, and she found herself instinctively relaxing as she caught the sweet smile curving his lips.

“Hey baby girl,” Natsu said softly as he began to carefully walk backwards and forwards, gently rocking Sakura in the way that usually had her breaking out in happy giggles and it quickly pulled his daughter’s attention away from her dozing and his smile broadened as she blinked her eyes at him. “What have you been up to, huh?” He asked, and she tried to babble at him like usual only to let out a soft growling noise, and for a moment her eyes widened in fright, but he was quick to soothe her, warm hands stroking gently across her back as he began to gently murmur nonsense into her ears.

   Mira watched the pair with soft eyes as she gently rocked Mercury backwards and forwards when he began to fuss again, amazed once again by how good Natsu was with them, although she had always known that he was going to be a great father.

“Your Daddy is amazing,” she leant forward to whisper into her son’s ear, smiling when he babbled back at her, and she almost got the impression that he was agreeing with her. Pressing a kiss into his wild silvery-white hair, she raised her eyes back to Natsu, only to blink in surprise as she realised that his efforts were paying off as their daughter was currently caught between both forms.

“Now that is really odd,” she commented with a light laugh, so used to the instantaneous changes that she and her siblings could do nowadays that she had forgotten how the in-between stages could look.

“Nearly there,” Natsu encouraged softly, only a quick eye roll in her direction telling her that he had heard what she had said. It only took a couple more minutes for Sakura to return to her own form, although her dress looked worse for wear having been completely warped by the magic forcing it through the change.

“You did it,” Mira said brightly, unable to keep all the relief out of her voice as she stepped across to join them, Mercury immediately reaching out with grasping hands for his father. Natsu smiled and freed one hand, offering it to his son who quickly grabbed it to play with, occupying him while Mira let her eyes run over her daughter to check for any signs of harm.

“She’s okay,” Natsu said reassuringly as he caught her worried gaze, having already checked Sakura over himself, although he couldn’t blame Mira for being concerned.

“Sleepy again,” Mira pointed out with a smile as Sakura yawned widely before snuggling her head back against Natsu’s chest with a contented noise, only to be mimicked a moment later by Mercury who had quickly lost interest in Natsu’s hand as he snuggled against Mira. “It must be naptime,” she added as she glanced down at Mercury with a smile.

“Let’s get them settled then,” Natsu said softly, gently combing his fingers through his daughter’s hair as he gestured for Mira to lead the way out of the room.

**

   Once the twins had been settled down in their room, Natsu and Mira retreated to the living room, activating the monitoring lacrima that would alert them if either Sakura or Mercury woke up before curling up on the sofa to make the most of what would no doubt only be a temporary period of peace and quiet

“I missed you,” Mira murmured as she snuggled against him, sighing as his warmth engulfed her and she felt her self-relaxing fully at the sensation. She missed him whenever he was away, and she always rushed home whenever it was her turn to be away on a job and it never fully felt like home unless they were all there together. “I missed you too,” Natsu echoed as he pressed a kiss against her cheek, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer.

“I’m sorry I was gone so long, it ended up being more complicated than I thought. Although, on the bright side neither of us need to go away for a while as I managed not to cause any ‘excessive’ damage this time.”

“Erza finally got you trained then?” Mira teased him, but there was no hiding the happiness in her eyes at the news they could get some proper family time, and Natsu merely sent her a half-hearted glare for the comment before burying his head against hers with a happy sigh of his own. “Seems like you chose a good day to come home though,” she added more seriously, wrinkling her nose as she imagined having to deal with Sakura’s transformation on her own, and catching her tone the Dragon-slayer straightened to look down at her.

“You would have been brilliant even if I wasn’t here,” he reassured her at once, and she smiled at his efforts, appreciating it although she doubted she could have convinced their daughter to change back as swiftly as he had managed. “I have to admit I didn’t think they were this close to using magic, they’re even younger than I was…”

“Yeah but neither of your parents was magical,” her voice was cautious as she mentioned his parents, feeling the way he tensed momentarily before he forced himself to relax again, and she waited until he snuggled closer to her before continuing. “We knew they were going to develop early if they had magic, and clearly having both of us with magic pushed it to be even earlier.”

“I wonder what Mercury’s magic will be?” She mused softly, she had little doubt now that he would also be magical although there was still a small chance that he might not be and for a moment her mind conjured up an image of both of their Twins as miniature Dragons, and she smiled at the thought.

“I don’t mind,” Natsu said with a small shrug, catching the smile and guessing where her thoughts had gone, and part of him hoped that both their children took after her, although he would love it if they inherited his magic. However, a moment later he grinned wildly as another thought occurred to him and Mira glanced up at him as she felt him practically vibrating with excitement. “I can’t wait to tell the other!” There was no hint of his earlier concern or the tension that came from mentioning his parents, and there was a broad grin on his face as he met her gaze as he added. “I hope Gray turns green with envy!”

“Honestly you two are terrible,” she scolded but there was no heat to her words, and she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at him, delighted to see him so happy and knowing that the rest of the guild would probably party when they heard the news. As for his crowing with Gray, while the pair had matured a lot since the de-ageing incident, the rivalry remained. Only now it had a new form in the shape of their children, as Gray had finally admitted his feelings for Juvia a year after their wedding and they were now happily married and proud parents of an eleven-month-old daughter – Freya.

“What?” Natsu asked innocently, although the effort was wasted as she could see the mischief in his eyes and with a sigh, she shook her head before leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

“You are incorrigible, and you know Gray will hit you if you tease him about this,” she warned him when she pulled away and he shrugged with a grin, making her shake her head reprovingly at him, knowing that there was going to be at least a small brawl when they made it to the guild later. She just hoped that Makarov was in a good mood, although Natsu would probably use his new-found technique for diverting the old man’s lecture, aka, handing him one of the twins and completely distracting the honorary great-grandfather from whatever talk he had been about to try and deliver.

****

   Once the twins had woken from their nap, thankfully without any more unexpected transformations occurring the small family had headed for the guild to share the news with their extended family. The walk through town was slow as they were greeted cheerfully by many of the townsfolk, with many people pausing to admire the twins who due to their parents were already well known throughout Magnolia. A fact that was already giving Mira nightmares when she imagined just how destructive they might end up being with Natsu as a father, but Natsu and Mira didn’t mind the delay.

   Entering the guild, they quickly located the rest of Natsu’s team at the large table near the side that they had claimed years ago. Smiling as they realised that Gray and Juvia were there with their daughter who was happily playing on the ground beside them with Romeo entertaining her by making shapes out of his fire in the air in front of her.

“Mira! Natsu!” Lucy was the first to spot them, quickly bouncing to her feet and coming to meet them, her smile growing as the Take-over mage promptly handed her Sakura who babbled a cheerful greeting to her. “Hey sweetie,” she smiled down at her god-daughter before blowing a kiss to Mercury who was more interested in gazing around at the rest of the guild, his wide eyes taking in the varied magical activities going on.

“Yo Flamebrain,” Gray greeted with a teasing smirk as the pair followed Lucy back to the table and settled into their seats, murmuring greetings to Erza who was currently engrossed in eating a slice of her favourite cake and they hastily shifted Mercury away as he honed in on the sweet treat. While they doubted Erza would ever do anything against the twins, but better safe than sorry, and Natsu had no wish to become a substitute target for her annoyance.

“Ice Princess,” Natsu retorted automatically as he pulled a face at the Ice mage. Leaning forward to peer down at Freya who was giggling away in her carrier and clapping her hands together as she watched Romeo with fascinated eyes and shaking his head in amusement at the fact that the Ice Mage’s daughter was so entertained by fire...carefully storing that information for a later time. “Hi Juvia,” he added lifting his head to look across at the Water mage who was snuggled happily into Gray’s side, keeping a watchful eye over their daughter.

“Hello, Natsu how are the twins?” She asked with a warm smile as she glanced between Lucy and Mira and the toddlers they were holding. Her previous shyness and odd patterns of speech had long since disappeared, and it felt as though she had always been a part of their team by this point.

“Great!” Natsu couldn’t stop himself from bouncing excitedly in his seat, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of them especially when they also noticed that Mira was looking equally excited, although she was hiding it slightly better than her husband.

“What’s going on?” Erza asked as she finally looked up from her cake, her eyes darting between the pair before shifting briefly to the twins and then back again.

“Sakura did magic this morning!” Natsu blurted out with a wide grin on his face, which only grew as he heard the murmurs spreading out around them, the rest of the guild had apparently been paying more attention than he had thought.

“Already?” Lucy asked glancing down in surprise at the pink-haired toddler currently toying with her Key pouch, although as she glanced back up at her best friend, she knew that she shouldn’t be. Catching Mira’s subtle glare, and guessing that Natsu had freaked out a little, even though looking at him now it was hard to imagine. “What did she do?”

“She turned into a Dragon!” Silence met Natsu’s proclamation, and his expression fell slightly as he realised they were all exchanging surprised and dubious glances. “She did! Mira…” He turned pleading eyes towards his wife who had to bite back a chuckle at how pathetic he managed to look, before deciding to take pity on him.

“She really did,” she confirmed glancing at her daughter with a small smile. “We think it’s all the stories that Natsu has been telling them about Dragons, and that shaped her Take-over magic.” She hadn’t told Natsu, but she was a little relieved that Sakura hadn’t inherited her Satan-soul takeovers, or at least not yet. She had been more than a little concerned at the thought of one of her babies using that kind of magic…

“Damn,” Lisanna had drifted over at some point, and she winced as Mira shot her a scolding look for her language, but she didn’t apologise, instead choosing to pout slightly at Natsu. “If you’d told them more animal stories they might have had my magic. You could have had a cute bunny or something rather than a Dragon,” she grumbled, but they could tell that she wasn’t serious, and Natsu shook his head even as he grinned at his sister-in-law.

“She’s cute enough as a Dragon,” he said proudly, and his teammates rolled their eyes slightly at his boasting. He had been in raptures over both his children since the moment they were born, although he had settled somewhat in the last year and they knew that this was going to be enough to set him off again. Although they couldn’t really bring themselves to complain as they were well aware of the doubts that had assailed him during Mira’s pregnancy, and they much preferred having their ears worn off with tales of the twins exploits.

“Only you would manage to have a daughter that could turn into a Dragon,” Lucy muttered shaking her head in amused disbelief as she glanced down at the pink-haired girl in her lap, unable to imagine her as a Dragon. And if it had only been Natsu saying it she might have dismissed it as a joke, but Mira was backing him up, and there was a proud expression on the Take-over mage’s face which told her that it was no joke.

“It’s not all my fault!” Natsu protested catching the quiet mutter before pointing at Mira who merely smiled at his response. “Mira’s the one with take-over magic.”

“Yeah but you’re the one who's obsessed with Dragons,” Gray retorted as he leaned in to look at Natsu with a small smirk, he had been witness to more than one debate between the Dragon-slayer and Lisanna over which stories were best for the twins.

“Yeah well, it looks like my little girl wins” Natsu taunted back with a grin to take out any sting in his words as he tilted his head slightly towards Freya. Mira exchanged knowing looks with Erza and Lucy as the three carefully moved away with the twins and on the other side they could Juvia carefully slipping away from Gray’s side with a fond but slightly exasperated smile as the Ice mage shot to his feet with a dark expression.

“Freya isn’t even a year old yet, of course, she hasn’t used magic yet,” Gray growled at Natsu, but there was no real heat in his voice, although it didn’t stop him from reaching out to hit the Dragon-slayer lightly on his arm in revenge for his teasing. Natsu barely noticed the joking hit, but he wasn’t about to let it pass, and he quickly darted around the table with a wild grin, and the Ice mage immediately dropped into a defensive position and brought his hands together.

“Ice Make…”

“Fire Dragon….”

“Boys,” Lucy muttered with a sigh and a shake of her head before turning her attention back to Mira who smiled at the fight breaking out behind them, none of them bothered in the slightest by the flares of cold and heat coming from the others. “Your Daddy is hopeless,” she added to Sakura who had managed to stand up in her lap so that she could peer over the Celestial mage’s shoulder at the battling pair, her eyes wide with delight and Mira shook her head as she took in her daughter’s expression. Clearly at least one of their children was going to take after Natsu.

**

   The brawl had been going on for a good ten minutes, although for once it had not spread to the rest of the guild although several nearby tables had been hastily evacuated before they got caught up in the fight. However, just as it seemed as they were about to take it to a more serious level, there was a deafening shout that brought the squabbling pair up short.

“STOP!” Makarov’s magically amplified voice immediately silenced the guild, and they turned around, unsurprised to find their Master towering over a suddenly frozen Gray and Natsu in his Titan form glaring down at his ‘brats’. His expression was one of fury, but they could all see the glint of humour and fondness in his eyes before he closed them allowing his magic to dissipate as he shrank back down to his usual size.

“Gramps,” Natsu and Gray chorused in unison before turning to glare at one another, but the sound of Erza clearing her throat stopped them from getting into a new argument.

“Honestly will you two ever learn?” Makarov muttered with a weary sigh as he glanced between them before turning his attention to the table behind them, his expression brightening as he glimpsed Freya and the twins and immediately heading in their direction. Natsu shook his head in amusement as he quickly stepped across and with a warm smile retrieved his daughter from Lucy who shot him a knowing look, to which he maturely stuck his tongue out before turning around just as Makarov reached them.

“Here,” Natsu said cheerfully as he passed his daughter to the older man who immediately wrapped his arms around the girl, only for both of them to freeze a moment later as her form shimmered for a second before Makarov found himself with an armful of Dragonet. “….Oh,” Natsu muttered sheepishly exchanging quick glances with Mira, before turning back to find that Makarov was busy murmuring to Sakura with a proud smile, utterly unfazed by her sudden change.

“She really is a Dragon,” Lisanna muttered leaning in to peer at her niece with curious eyes, silently admitting that Natsu had been correct in his earlier claim that she made a cute dragon, not that she intended on saying that to him anytime soon.

“Of course,” Natsu replied with a beaming smile stepping across to stand beside Mira and happily taking Mercury when she offered. Gently cradling his son against his chest and letting the toddler pull at his scarf until it was wrapped around both of them a contented expression on his face as he felt his wife wrapping her arm around his waist. “We told you that!”

“Damn he’s going to be insufferable for ages because of this,” Gray muttered with a pout as he dropped back into his seat. Smiling slightly as Juvia with a freshly retrieved Freya in her arms,  settled in his lap, and he automatically wrapped his arms around the pair as he glanced between Makarov and his pink charge and Natsu and the rest of his family, and somehow he couldn’t bring himself to mind that thought as much as he wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

   Mira frowned slightly as she slowly woke up, immediately aware of the fact that Natsu wasn’t still on the bed with her as there was no burning heat at her side. It was rare for him to be up before her, especially when it was one of their breaks from jobs, as they tried to savour those mornings and spend as long as possible curled up together. Sitting up she glanced across at the lacrima on the bedside table which monitored the twins, but it was glowing a pale pink which indicated that they were still sleeping and content which ruled out Natsu having been roused by their children.

   With a concerned expression she slipped out of bed, shivering slightly as she had been sleeping in vest and shorts to cope with the heat her husband let off, and with a growl, she snatched up a hoodie from the laundry pile and slipped it on. Her expression softening as she realised it was one of Natsu’s and burying her nose in the material for a moment she drank in the familiar smell. Shaking her head she headed out of the room, pausing as she listened for any sign of movement downstairs, but the house was utterly silent which did little to settle her nerves.

   Turning on her heel, she headed for the nursery, wanting to check on the twins before continuing her search for their father, but the sight that met her eyes as she slipped into the room brought her up short, and a warm smile spread across her lips. Natsu was sat on the floor leaning awkwardly against Sakura’s cot, with a sleeping Mercury securely cocooned in his arms, completely dead to the world as he snored loudly, a content expression on his face. Evidently, her son had woken at some point in the night, and Natsu had managed to fall asleep while soothing him, and she wished Reedus was here so he could paint this, although she might end up slipping the idea to the artist later on.

   Quietly she moved across the room and bending down she gently eased Mercury out of his father’s arms, gently hushing him when he began to stir with a sleepy whimper, and thankfully he settled without waking properly. Pressing a soft kiss into downy hair she carefully carried him across to his cot, settling him in the middle and pulling the covers over him with a loving smile before turning her attention back to Natsu as she moved back across to him.

“Natsu,” she called softly as she crouched down beside the Dragon-slayer, reaching out to gently caress his cheek and watching with a smile as he screwed up his nose cutely as he fought against her attempts to drag him back into consciousness. After a moment though sleepy olive eyes blinked open, and a drowsy smile spread across his face as he met her gaze. “Good morning sleepyhead,” she greeted leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips, and after a moment he responded with a happy hum.

“Good morning,” he murmured when she pulled away and she felt herself blushing slightly at the love she could see in his eyes, absently recalling how embarrassed he had been about showing such affection in the early days of their relationship, and overjoyed that he felt secure enough to be completely open with her now.

“What are you doing sleeping in here?” She asked curiously as she offered him a hand, which he accepted gratefully allowing her to help him back to his feet, groaning as his body protested from the uncomfortable position he had been sleeping in.

“Mercury had a bad dream and set the lacrima off,” Natsu explained as he began to stretch out stiff muscles, glancing across at his sleeping son with a hint of concern which melted into contentedness as he realised the white-haired boy was fast asleep. “He didn’t want to settle down, and I was worried that if I kept walking around with him, I might wake Sakura up, so I sat down with him, and e must have dozed off at some point after that…” He added with a frown, able to remember gently rocking the whining toddler but having no recollection of Mercury actually falling asleep.

“I missed you this morning,” Mira said softly, and he glanced at her, and she pouted at him, able to tease and joke now that she knew nothing was wrong with either of her boys, and he rolled his eyes before offering her a warm grin.

“Well, I don’t think these two are planning on waking up anytime soon, do you want to go back to bed?” He asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and she giggled at his actions before nodding, only to find herself smothering a squeal as she was suddenly pulled into a pair of warm arms before being lifted in a princess carry. Natsu’s eyes glinting with amusement as she gently slapped his arm in punishment for scaring her before heading quietly for the door.

They had to make the most of their alone time after all.

**

   They had managed to have another hour cuddling in bed before Sakura had woken up in a foul temper which she was determined to share with the world, and dragging her brother into wakefulness where he promptly joined her in wailing noisily for attention. Hearing the racket Mira and Natsu shared looks that were part amusement and part resignation before simultaneously rolling out of bed and heading for the nursery to calm the twins and get them ready for the day.

****

Three hours later:

“Thanks for doing this Mira,” Kinana said as she gathered up her belongings, smiling in thanks at the Take-over mage as the older woman passed her, her coat.

“No worries, I’ve actually missed doing this,” Mira said with a laugh as she glanced around the bar, running her hand across the surface with a suddenly nostalgic expression as she added softly. “I hadn’t even realised it.” She had been so focused on becoming an active mage again, and then with settling into life with Natsu and the twins that she had never really thought about her old job, but there was something comforting about taking up her old post even if it was only for an afternoon. Maybe she should talk to Makarov about taking on the odd shift again, and it would mean that they had extra income without either of them being away from the Twins.

“Well thanks all the same,” Kinana insisted with a smile. She was on her way to visit Cobra as it was one of the few afternoons that the Council allowed visitors and she had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to find someone to cover her shift, although she was sure that their Master would have closed the bar if it had been necessary. “I shouldn’t be back too late,” she added frowning slightly, knowing from experience just how quickly the visiting period went.

“Don’t rush, I can always get Lisanna or Elfman to help out if need be,” Mira reassured her, catching the hint of glumness that had entered the other’s girl’s voice and easily able to guess its source, and she gently reached out to push Kinana towards the door with a firm. “Go.”

   With a last smile and wave the younger girl hurried for the door, waving as many of the guild mages called out farewells to her, knowing full well where she was going and relieved to see the smile that had been missing for the last couple of weeks since the last visiting session had been cancelled. Mira beamed at the sight, knowing that once upon a time the younger woman had been worried about being accepted in the guild, especially after she developed a relationship with the convicted Dragon-slayer who had a history of fighting against Fairy Tail, but the guild had merely taken those developments in their stride as always.

   Humming softly she glanced around in search of her husband, smiling when she found him sitting at a table with the rest of his teammates and engaged in a lively conversation with Lucy. Although she could see him eyeing Gray and she had little doubt that at some point it would become a brawl and she shook her head fondly. No matter how old they got, that pair never seemed to change. Satisfied that he wasn’t up to too much trouble, she turned her attention back to the bar, determined to get reacquainted with her old job.

**

   It had been quiet in the Guildhall for the past couple of hours, and Mira had found herself enjoying pottering around behind the bar, pausing every now and then to check on the twins who were contentedly playing in a playpen a short distance away. They had been forced to get Freed to set up a runic ceiling above the pen when Sakura had proven capable of flight when transformed, although she still couldn’t go very high or far, but they didn’t fancy the thought of her escaping when their backs were turned. Although so far today her daughter hadn’t shown any inclination to practice her magic, and Mira was enjoying the peace for as long as it lasted.

   She smiled as her gaze shifted across to Mercury who was happily building a tower out of the blocks that had been a gift from Makarov for their first birthday. It had been almost four months since Sakura had first shown her magic, and so far there was no sign of their son following in her footsteps, but neither she nor Natsu was overly concerned as Sakura had been extremely early in her development. They had briefly discussed the possibility of him not being magical, but the conversation hadn’t lasted long as they were both in complete agreement that it didn’t matter if he was a later developer or even if he never had magic at all. As long as he was safe and happy, then they would be content.

   Satisfied that both toddlers weren’t up to any mischief and seemed quite content to carry on playing, for now, she turned her attention back to the inventory she was working on, humming softly to herself.

**

An hour later:

“Mira…?”

“Hmm… What’s wrong?” Mira asked absent-mindedly as she pulled her attention away from the order that she was working on, blinking as she found her sister hovering over the playpen with a worried expression on her face and her gaze immediately sharpened as she took in Lisanna’s expression.

“Where’s Mercury?” Lisanna asked urgently as she gestured down at the playpen and Mira blanched and quickly darted across to the other girl’s side, panic already beginning to churn in her chest as she knew that there was no way that Lisanna would joke with her about the children.

“What do you…?” She began to demand only to trail off as she realised that only Sakura was sat in the playpen. The little girl glancing up and waving her arms for attention as she realised that her mum and aunt were there and Lisanna hastily reached in to pick her up as she caught the sight of tears forming as Mira was too distracted at the moment. “Mercury?!” Mira called urgently even as she crouched to examine the playpen, knowing that no one would have been able to take him out of the pen without her noticing and she came up short as she found her son’s escape route. “Damn it, look at this…”

    Lisanna followed Mira’s gaze, and her eyes widened as she found herself staring at a small hole hidden in the corner of the pen, the charred edges telling them exactly how it had happened, and Mira sighed in exasperation, of all the times for her little boy to develop his magic…

“Congratulations it looks like you have a mini-Natsu on your hands,” Lisanna commented drily, and Mira glanced up at her before smiling as she thought back to the tiny pink-haired version of husband before shaking her head. No, not a mini-Natsu, but a Natsu as he should have been if he’d had a proper childhood but she thought, but she didn’t voice it aloud as she got back to her feet before glancing around.

“Come on we need to find him.”

**

   Natsu grinned challengingly at Gray as he danced out of the path of the Ice Mage’s fist, enjoying the rush that always came from their brawling although he had to admit it was a lot more fun now without the aggravation that had always edged their confrontations before the de-ageing incident. Gray pulled a face at him before lunging at him once more, and this time the Dragon-slayer allowed the tackle to connect, easily rolling them both over and moving the fight away from the table. Erza had mellowed a lot, but as she was currently eating her beloved cake, there was no point in risking her wrath.

“Is that the best you have Ice Princess?” Natsu taunted as they broke apart, allowing his flames to briefly dance across his skin as he realised Gray had managed to cover his back in a thin layer of ice, impressed despite himself with the sneaky attack although it didn’t stop him from immaturely sticking his tongue out at his friend who glowered at him.

“I’ll show you what I’ve got Flamebrain!” He snapped with a growl, launching a ball of ice at the grinning Dragon-slayer who was forced to dodge aside giving him the time to close the distance between them before springing at Natsu once more and sending him flying with a loud squawk.

“Honestly are those two ever going to grow up?” Lucy muttered with fond exasperation as the pair crashed loudly through a nearby bench which had thankfully been empty at the time, already imagining the scolding they would get from Makarov when he saw the damage.

“They have…” Juvia piped up intent on defending her husband as she glanced up from playing with her daughter, only to trail off as another bench was destroyed by the brawling pair before adding with a fond sigh. “Most of the time…” Lucy grinned at the change of attitude before turning her attention to Erza, surprised that the older woman hadn’t already moved to stop the pair.

“Erza aren’t you going to stop them?”

“Not right now,” Erza mumbled around a mouthful of cake, briefly glancing across at Gray and Natsu and shaking her head before refocusing on her snack and the Celestial mage shook her own head, of course, the cake would come first.

**

   Mira had hoped that Mercury would still be near the playpen after all both of them were only just at the toddling stage, and he should have been somewhat tired after using magic for the first time. However, there was no sign of him as she and Lisanna searched behind the bar and under the nearby chairs and tables with increasing concern and fear. Just how far had he managed to go? If they had been at home, she wouldn’t have been so worried, but this was the guild, and although everyone had proven to be incredibly protective of the newest generation, there was still more potential for injury to befall her boy.

   She was resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have to fetch Natsu, something she had wanted to avoid as he had a tendency to panic far more than she did when it came to their children when she heard Lisanna let out a horrified gasp. Whirling, she immediately detected the sudden spike in the magic filling the air and instinctively her gaze shot towards Natsu and Gray her eyes widening as she realised their brawl was breaking out into a magical one. She frowned unsure of why that would have scared Lisanna when suddenly she caught sight of the small figure toddling into the midst of the fight, and she felt her heart stop as terror flooded her.

“ICE MAKE: LANCE!”

“FIRE DRAGON’S….”

“MERCURY!” Mira’s frantic cry cut through Natsu’s focus, and he immediately began to turn towards her, but his eyes caught the small figure that had just toddled into the space between him and Gray, and his heart stuttered in his chest as he realised the Ice Mage’s attack was already rushing towards his defenceless son. On the far side of the hall, Gray’s eyes had widened with horror and terror as he also realised what was happening, and he dashed forward, watching as Natsu suddenly shot forwards his face a mask of terror.

   The Dragon-slayer had never moved so fast in his life, using his own magic to propel himself forward with a desperate cry. At the last second, he managed to fling himself between Mercury and the oncoming ice magic. Wrapping himself protectively around the toddler and gritting his teeth as Gray’s attack slammed into his unprotected back, and he felt as though all the air was being forced out of his body and it took all his will-power not to shout out in pain. Gray’s magic was on a whole other level than it had been when they used to fight, and a tremor worked its way through his body at the thought of how close this attack had come to hitting his son.

“Natsu! Mercury!” Mira’s frantic cries broke through the pain, and he blinked as he realised that the attack had vanished, and he huffed out a relieved breath before casting his eyes down towards Mercury even as he began to unfurl, checking that he had managed to protect his son from the attack.

“Natsu!” Gray was suddenly there beside them, and the Dragon-slayer glanced up to meet guilt-filled onyx eyes, and he offered his friend a reassuring smile as he finished uncurling, rolling his eyes slightly when Mercury pulled back slightly and beamed up at him before giggling. Trust his son to get a rush from such a near miss. Mira was going to kill him if Mercury turned out to be a daredevil.

“We’re both all right,” he declared loudly as he took in all the worried onlookers, accepting the hand that Gray had held out to pull him back to his feet, frowning as he realised how badly Gray was shaking. However, before he could say anything, Mira had arrived in a flurry of panic and fear, although it was calming slightly as she too had caught his words.

“Thank heavens,” she whispered, and there were tears of relief on her cheeks as she reached out to stroke a trembling hand down Mercury’s cheek, and her voice was somewhat watery as she scolded him. “You scared me.” Natsu leant forward to press a kiss against her cheek in the hopes of soothing her further, but the movement pulled on his back, and he came up short with a grimace which the Take-over mage caught out of the corner of her eye. “Natsu?”

“I’m fine,” he tried to wave off her concern, but as he tried to straighten up a fresh flash of pain went through him, and he couldn’t mask the wince that slipped free. Mira’s eyes widened in concern, and before he could voice a protest, she had taken Mercury out of his arms and was herding him towards the nearest seat, barely paying any attention to Gray who trailed after them with a lost look on his face.

   Seeing the steel in her gaze and realising that she wasn’t in the mood for arguments he allowed her to push him down into it, hissing slightly at the action and her expression darkened before she gently handed Mercury to Lucy who had quickly hurried across to join them. The Celestial mage willingly took the toddler, her face still showing lingering traces of the fear that had filled her when she had realised what was happening, and she buried her face against Mercury’s hair as she stepped back to give Mira room to work.

“Let me see,” Mira ordered as she turned her attention back to Natsu and after a moment of hesitation the Dragon-slayer surrendered and began to carefully remove his vest, although Mira rapidly moved to assist him when she saw that the action was causing him more pain. Her eyes widened as she took in the damage that had been hidden beneath his clothes, feeling weak-kneed for a moment at the thought that it could so easily have been her baby boy in that condition. Natsu’s back was red and already bruising in many places, while there were several points where the ice had broken skin although thankfully not too deeply, but blood was tickling from several of the cuts, and her hands trembled as she reached out to brush the trickles away. “Oh Natsu, this is going to cleaning and bandaging. If only Wendy were here...”

“Natsu…” Gray whispered as he stared wide-eyed at the damage he had caused, well aware that it was only this bad because the Dragon-slayer had made no attempts to block it or rather had been unable to block it.

“It’s not too bad,” Natsu said reassuringly as he caught the pained whisper. His eyes narrowing as he caught the guilt on Gray’s face before the Ice mage turned away slightly, but before he could try and reassure the Ice mage further, Mira had straightened and was glaring down at him. Clearly unimpressed with his efforts to downplay the injury even if she did understand the reasoning behind it.

“Stay here I’m going to go and get medical supplies from upstairs,” she told him sternly, and he nodded meekly, easily able to tell that he would be in a world of trouble if moved even an inch while she was gone.

**

Half an hour later:

   Once Natsu had been patched up he reclaimed his son, needing to reassure himself that the toddler was okay while the guild finally began to get back to normal as the other mages left the small group to recover in peace.

“I’m so sorry,” Gray muttered yet again, still avoiding looking at his friends or the happily giggling toddler in his best friend’s arms. All he could see was the sight of his magic rushing towards the defenceless child and his mind was more than willing to summon up images of what could have happened if Natsu hadn’t been so quick to react and he had to swallow the nausea rising in the back of his throat…he could have easily killed Mercury…

He could have killed Natsu’s child…

   Natsu scowled as he caught the conflict on his friend’s face and noting how Gray was still trying to avoid looking at them. There was no way he was going to let that expression remain and glancing down at Mercury he knew just how to get rid of it, and he quickly scooped up the boy. “Here give your uncle a cuddle,” Natsu said firmly, dumping his son in Gray’s lap and stepping back with a grin as he took in the Ice Mage’s dumbfounded expression. Despite his shock at the Dragon-slayer’s actions, Gray had hastily wrapped his arms the small boy to make sure that he wouldn’t fall, and despite himself, a small smile tugged at his lips as Mercury began to chatter away to him.

“Natsu…”

“It was an accident,” Natsu cut across the weak protest with a scowl, which melted away as Mira appeared at his side with Sakura wrapped in her arms and he smiled at them as he wrapped his arm around Mira’s shoulders. “Speaking of which how did he get out of the pen?” He asked with a frown as he glanced down at her, surprised when she narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before grinning at him.

“Magic,” she replied simply, and he blinked as the group around them went silent, staring between them and the child in Gray’s lap.

“Magic…?” Natsu echoed in confusion, and then understanding dawned, and he turned widened eyes towards Mercury, and a fresh smile spread across his lips before he turned back to his wife. “He used magic?”

“Yep,” Mira replied, and this time she smiled, knowing that he was going to be happy to know one of their children had inherited his magic and her eyes sparkled as she added teasingly. “Burned a nice little hole right through the playpen…”

“Oh…” Natsu blinked as he processed what she was saying before a beaming smile crept across his face, and he turned shining eyes towards his son. His little fire mage, he thought with pride, before adding brightly as he glanced back at his wife with a slightly sheepish expression. “I guess we’ll need to fireproof it as well.”

“I guess so.”

****

That night:

   Natsu looked up as Mira breezed into the bedroom, having been banished to the bed to rest while she got the twins into bed, a job that had taken longer than usual as everything at the guild had wound both of them up, and she sighed with relief as she dropped down onto the bed beside him. “Are they asleep?” He asked with a smile as he shuffled over to make room as she curled up beside him, gently resting her head against his shoulder.

“Finally…” She replied wearily before pulling back to look at him in concern as she asked. “How is your back?”

“Sore and it’ll be stiff as hell in the morning, but I’ve had worse,” Natsu replied with a cautious shrug, and she narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before seemingly deciding that he was being honest. And he smiled as she settled against him once more, reaching out to wrap an arm loosely around her and pull her closer as he felt a small tremor go through him. “Mira…?”

“I thought we were going to lose him for a moment, ” she admitted softly as she turned to bury her face against him as the sight of Gray’s attack rushing towards Mercury flashed through her mind once more…

“So did I,” Natsu replied quietly after a moment. He had known that she wasn’t as calm about everything as she was pretending to be, and he had half-expected her to fall apart as soon as they got home, but she had continued on as normal, so he wasn’t surprised that it was catching up with her now. Tenderly he pulled her over until she was resting against his chest, her head just above his heart as he knew from experience that the sound soothed her and sure enough she slowly melted against him, although it didn’t remove the tremble from her voice as she continued.

“If you hadn’t been so fast…”

“But I was…” Natsu pointed out soothingly, ignoring the small voice in his head that unhelpfully pointed out what could have happened if he’d been even a second slower. Resolutely reminding himself that his son was safely sleeping just down the hallway. “There’s no point in dwelling in what-ifs, its over and done with now, and Mercury is fine.”

“I know, it’s just…” “

You worry,” he finished for her, and she nodded against his chest, and he smiled before tilting his head to press a kiss to her forehead. “Come on let’s go to sleep, tomorrow’s a new day,” he added as he began to wiggle down despite the pain it was causing him until they were laying comfortably on the bed. Mira shooting him a scolding look before sitting up to fix the covers and pulling them up over them before snuggling back up against him with a whispered.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Natsu asked sleepily as he shifted slightly to find a more comfortable position for his tender back, tightening his hold on her when she made to move away in case her weight was hurting him and shaking his head slightly when she glanced at him.

“Protecting our son.”

“That’s not something you have to t-thank me for,” he scolded her around a wide yawn, exhaustion filling him now as he was lulled by her presence, before adding softly and with a small smile. “Now go to sleep, I love you…”

“I love you too,” she replied after a moment, smiling as she realised that he had already dropped off to sleep and shaking her head slightly she let her eyes slide shut.

_They’re both safe_ …


	3. 3: Part 1

   Natsu grumbled sleepily as a loud noise somewhere near his ear roused him from a deep sleep, and blearily he opened his eyes and stared blankly up at the ceiling for a long moment. Registering the fact that he was alone in the bed and scowling as he remembered that Mira was away on a job and that Happy was away visiting the other Exceeds. Blinking as that thought registered, he rolled over with a groan and raised his head to seek out the source of the noise and his eyes widened as they settled on the monitor lacrima which was lit up with a sickly, yellow light which pulsated in time with the alarm.

   At once all traces of weariness disappeared, and in seconds he was out of bed and heading for the door, pausing only long enough to silence the alarm. Then he was out of the room and hurrying down the hallway towards the nursery, the alarm having indicated that at least one of the twins had woken and was ill. Thankfully they had only seen that alarm a couple of times, but he couldn’t help but the curse the timing as Mira was due to be away for at least two weeks and both Sakura and Mercury always wanted her more than him when they were unwell.

    Opening the door to the nursery, he was unsurprised when his ears were promptly assailed by wailing, although it didn’t stop him from wincing at the assault on his sensitive ears. A quick glance showed that both of them were awake and he wanted to groan, knowing that even if only one were ill, the other would still play up in response. For a moment he hesitated over who to go to first, but then he caught the whiff of vomit coming from the direction of Mercury’s cot and even as he wrinkled his nose at the smell he was moving in that direction.

“Shh,” he said soothingly as he reached down and gently scooped his son into his arms, ignoring the sick coating the front of Mercury’s pyjamas with the ease born from experience. Tucking the toddler against his body he peered down at him, his eyes narrowing as he took in the bright flush covering Mercury’s face and when he brushed his fingers against his son’s forehead he could feel the heat radiating from the toddler. “What have you managed to come down with?” He asked softly and with more than a hint of concern, knowing that if Mercury felt hot to him it had to be bad and he racked his brains trying to remember if they had any medicine left in the house.

   A soft cry from the other bed disrupted his thoughts and had him moving instantly, carefully holding his son against him, and he wanted to groan as a quick glance at Sakura was enough to confirm that she was in a similar state although thankfully she hadn’t thrown up. Carefully shifting Mercury into a one-armed hold, he reached down to scoop up Sakura with his other, relieved when she settled slightly as he cradled her against him and his frown darkened. It wasn’t the first time the pair had been ill, but something told him that this was more serious than usual. Besides the yellow alarm had only gone off a couple of times before, and it had always been for illnesses when they had to seek out help from either Wendy or Porlysuica.

“I guess we’re going to the guild,” he whispered softly to the pair, moving across to the changing table and gently laying them down, his eyes narrowing when they both whined at the loss of contact and wishing once again that Mira was here. Quickly he rooted out a fresh pair of pyjamas for Mercury, stripping and redressing his son with practised ease before hastily dumping several sets of clothes for both of them into a bag.

    Once he was satisfied that he had everything that they might need for the time being, he slung the bag over his shoulder before stepping back over to his children who were beginning to cry again. Shushing them softly he carefully scooped them both up into his arms, gently increasing the heat he was letting off and feeling his lips twitching upwards as they both snuggled closer to the warmth. With a last glance around the room he turned and headed for the door, murmuring soothingly as they both protested the movement.

_Please let Wendy be at the guild…_

****

   The Dragon-slayer was surprised to find the guild-hall was fully lit up when he arrived although the main hall was empty of all but a couple of sleeping mages who had clearly drunk too much to make it home. However, he paid them no heed as he hurried up to the infirmary hoping that Wendy was around as he glanced down anxiously at the toddlers cradled in his arms. At some point during the walk here they had both dozed off again, but it didn’t seem to be a comfortable sleep as they both twitched and shifted constantly, and his eyes narrowed as he realised the flush in their cheeks was spreading and growing brighter.

   Automatically his speed increased, and he was nearly running by the time he reached the infirmary, although he was brought up short as he took in the number of people crowded into the room. Briefly, he noted that Lisanna and Elfman were stood to one side, but then his attention was drawn across to the nearest bed, relief flooding him as he spotted familiar blue hair in the midst of the group. As he moved closer, he realised with a growing frown that Makarov was there as well, before his attention shifted to the familiar figure standing at the end of the bed.

“Gray?” Natsu as he came up alongside the Ice mage, his eyes darting to the bed as he realised that Freya was laid on it and despite his concern for the children in his own arms he felt compelled to ask. “Why are you guys here at this time of night?”

“Freya’s ill,” Gray replied grimly not even bothering to turn and look at Natsu, his eyes fixated on his daughter who was currently laid on the bed looking tinier than ever as a worried Wendy examined her. Juvia hovering just behind her and watching every move the younger woman made with wary eyes even though she trusted, the younger girl. “And so is Asuka,” Gray gestured briefly at the bed opposite, and Natsu followed his arm. His eyes widening as he took in the little girl’s flushed complexion and the worried expressions on Alzack and Bisca’s faces as they sat on either side of her and at once his eyes darted down to the toddlers in his own arms, and he felt himself pale.

“Wendy!” He called softly stepping forward, not really wanting to draw her attention away from Freya, but needing to let her know that he needed her as well. At his call, her head shot up, and he saw the realisation on her face as her eyes landed on the toddlers in his arm and he tensed as he caught the brief flicker of fear that went through her eyes. It couldn’t be that serious, could it?

“The Twins as well?” She asked, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to the fact that he was there and that Mercury and Sakura were with him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the guilt that flashed across Gray’s face at not having realised before despite his understandable distraction, and he quickly shot his friend what he hoped was a reassuring look.

“Yeah…” Natsu confirmed heavily, his gaze flickering between Asuka and Freya with new worry after catching her expression. On the way to the guild he had managed to convince himself that it couldn’t be anything too serious, but those reassurances were crumbling under the tension he could feel in the air, and the concern he could see in everyone’s eyes and it didn’t help that Wendy’s expression had darkened at his confirmation.

“Okay settle them in the bed,” she ordered gently gesturing at the empty bed beside Freya’s before adding more with a strained edge to her voice. “I’ll have a look at them in a moment.”

“Alright,” Natsu agreed already moving towards the bed, offering Makarov a strained smile when the guild master quickly pulled the covers back for him before stepping out of the way. Carefully he lowered both toddlers onto the bed, trying not to wake them just yet and gently pulling the covers back over them before activating the runes that Freed had built into all the beds once the new generation began to grow, runes to stop them falling from the bed and to monitor the patients. His fingers trembled slightly as he brushed them over first Sakura’s head and then Mercury’s, and he was privately relieved that he had an audience, because if he’d been on his own, he might have gone to pieces.

“Natsu?” Lisanna asked softly as she appeared at his side, her eyes worried as she leant over to examine her niece and nephew before she rested a supportive hand on the Dragon-slayer’s arm as she caught the poorly concealed fear in his expression. “How are they?” She asked gently, almost groaning as she recalled that Mira was away on a job but hastily smothering the reaction as it was clear from his expression that he was already missing her sister.

“They’ve got a fever and Mercury threw up before the alarm alerted me,” Natsu replied offering her a weak attempt at a smile at her supportive gesture, relieved to realise that at least she and Elfman were still around, although he still desperately wished that Mira was home. Lisanna frowned at his reply, fresh concern welling up as she glanced at the sleeping twins and her hand tightened on his arm. She might not be a healer, but even she could tell that they were doing worse than Freya and Asuka and she could feel fear beginning to stir although she carefully concealed it knowing that Natsu didn’t need her falling apart on him.

“Let me see,” Wendy ordered appearing at their side a moment later, gently pushing Natsu back to get more room, her understanding expression stopping the protest he had been about to make and instead he just gave a small nod and stepped back.

    With an assurance that she wasn’t feeling she began to examine the twins, immediately noting that they were worse than the others and she struggled to stop herself from swallowing hard at that realisation. It didn’t help that she could feel everyone’s eyes boring into her, but she managed to keep her calm, outwardly at least as she took their temperature and checked them for rashes and other symptoms.

“Wendy?” Natsu demanded urgently after several minutes of this, the wait grating on his already frazzled nerves although he winced as he realised that his voice had come out much louder than he’d intended and he felt Lisanna’s fingers tightening on him once more although she didn’t scold him for the volume.

“Neither of the other two has thrown up,” Wendy admitted reluctantly not wanting to add to his concern and wincing as she caught the alarm that flared up in his eyes, and her voice dropped to a mere whisper as she added. “And their temperatures are much higher…”

“Which means?” Natsu asked forcing himself to keep his voice as calm and rational as possible, even though internally he was rapidly descending into a panicked mess. This was far worse than anything he had imagined when he had found the Twins ill, and he desperately wished that Mira was here with him. If anything happened while she was gone…he swallowed hard and turned his attention back to Wendy who was carefully examining Sakura with a serious expression. “Wendy?”

“Whatever it is, they’ve got it worse than the others, but I don’t know why,” Wendy replied with more than a little frustration in her voice, hating the fact that she couldn’t give him a more useful answer. Narrowing her eyes she moved her hands into position over Mercury, taking a deep breath before allowing her magic to flow, lighting the air around her with a faint green glow and she was only peripherally aware of Natsu shifting slightly closer.

   For several minutes she kept up the flow of magic, drawing in deeper and deeper breaths in the hopes that the boost to her magic would make the difference, but she could tell that it wasn’t taking hold. And as time passed, she became aware that the heat that Mercury was letting off was increasing rather than decreasing and with a flash of panic she snatched her hands away, the light immediately disappearing. For a moment she clenched her hands, feeling somewhat betrayed by her own magic before she forced herself to turn and look at the watching group.

“My magic isn’t doing anything,” Wendy said softly shaking her head, and they could see the frustration and worry in her face as she glanced briefly at her hands before looking around at the worried parents as she admitted quietly. “If anything it seems to be making it worse. I think we need to get Porlysuica-san.” She had already given Freya and Asuka what medicine she could and it hadn’t had any effect, but as she wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong with them, she didn’t dare give them anything else without the older healer being here. Part of her knowing that she was probably being overcautious, but these were her friends’ children, and there was no way she was going to take any risks over this matter as she glanced around helplessly. Knowing that as the only healer present she couldn’t leave but also knowing that there was no way Natsu or the others would go either.

“I’ll go and get Jet,” Elfman offered after a moment knowing that none of the others would be willing to leave at the moment even though he was also reluctant to go, his gaze lingering briefly on his niece and nephew before glancing across at Makarov who nodded in approval and agreement. “He’s the fastest, and he’s been there before.”

“Tell him to hurry,” Makarov ordered urgently, and the take-over mage nodded before hurrying out of the room without another word. The Guild-master sighing with relief even as he turned back to study the others in the room, it was also tense when any of the guild were hurt or ill, but everyone in the guild treasured these children, the first of the new generation and he could feel the fear and concern gnawing at his heart.

“Isn’t there anything we can do for now?” Juvia asked anxiously as she rocked her daughter, gently shushing Freya as she began to cry again and Gray gently squeezed her shoulder when she glanced up at him for reassurance.

“Just work on keeping their temperatures down,” Wendy replied wishing that she had a better answer to give the worried water mage. “I can’t give them any more medicine until Porlysuica-san has seen them.”

****

   Porlysuica growled as she glanced at the clock before turning to glare at the door, wondering who on earth would be brave enough to disturb her in the middle of the night. For a moment she lingered in bed, hoping that whoever it was would just go away but after a moment her visitor knocked again and muttering under her breath she finally rose, pulling on her cloak as she headed for the door with her scowl firmly in place. This had better be an emergency, or there would be hell to pay. Even Makarov would get lambasted at this time of night, and she had more tolerance for him than most.

“What?” She snapped as she yanked the door open, blinking as she found Jet practically doubled over on the doorstep as he struggled to catch his breath and her irritation was derailed when he forced himself to straighten and look at her with a panicked expression. It had been a long time since one of Makarov‘s brats had come to her with that kind of expression, and she tensed, bracing herself for what he was about to say.

“We need you at the guild,” he managed to force out around pants, taking a deep breath to steady himself before continuing, nervously meeting her glare and once again cursing the fact that he was the only one fast enough to get here in time. “All the children have come down with something, and Wendy’s healing magic isn’t helping,” he explained quickly knowing from past experience just how much she hated long-winded explanations and requests, and for a long moment, she just stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“Give me two minutes,” Porlysuica snapped just as he was about to take the risk of prompting her for a response, and he had to bite back a sigh of relief, instead settling for resting against the door frame and watching as she moved around her house with a speed that belied her age.

   In less than two minutes she was back in front of him a bag slung over a shoulder, arching an eyebrow at him with an expectant look. For a split second, he just blinked at her and then shaking his head he turned around and crouched down, he usually would have been more hesitant in offering that form of transport to the prickly healer, but he wasn’t going to waste time when it came to the children. There was only a brief pause to indicate that she had hesitated before Porlysuica closed the distance between them, carefully wrapping her arms around his shoulders and biting back any complaint she might have been inclined to make as he rose, wrapping his arms around her legs to ensure he had her securely.

“Go,” she ordered sternly a moment later, and with a short nod, he shot forwards, drawing up every scrap of magic that he had to force himself to higher speeds that he had used before.

****

   The infirmary was quiet as everyone watched Porlysuica examine the four children, Wendy quietly working away at her side and occasionally talking to her in a low voice that even Natsu had difficulty in hearing. From the moment the older healer had arrived the atmosphere in the infirmary had relaxed ever so slightly, as every member of the guild had the utmost faith in Porlysuica despite her usually less than approachable manner. Wendy had greeted her with such relief that they were reassured that the Dragon-slayer wouldn’t take offence in the fact that Porlysuica had managed to reassure them more than she had.

“Well?” Makarov asked anxiously when the pair finally stood from where they had been studying a cranky Asuka, the little cowgirl being completely uncowed by the healer and making it known that she didn’t feel well and that she didn’t appreciate being poked and prodded. “Do you know what’s wrong with them?” He added when Porlysuica didn’t respond quickly enough for his liking, slightly distracted by Bisca rushing past her to comfort and quiet her daughter, at the second question though the healer turned to look at her anxious audience before finally replying.

“They’ve all come down with MED.”

“What’s that?” Lisanna asked with a frown not recognising the shortened name.

“Magical energy deficiency,” Wendy replied with a frown, before sighing as she realised that she was still being met by confused expressions and gathering herself she continued. “It’s generally a childhood illness although it is possible for adults to get it if they haven’t had it before. We’re not sure what causes it, but essentially the body begins to attack the individual’s magic.” She had heard if it before, and she vaguely remembered suffering it herself when she was much younger, but she had never had to deal with it before.

“It’s something every magical child has at some point,” Porlysuica added calmly, and somehow her tone helped soothe the worried parents more than anything as they knew from experience that if she sounded like that the situation couldn’t be too bad. “It’s usually best if they get it early like these four have, as it gets worse depending on age as well as how powerful the child is.”

“I remember having it when I was younger,” Gray muttered as he cast his mind back. Remembering the week of being absolutely miserable when both he and Lyon had come down on it, although Ur had been amazing that week and had coddled them both in a way she never usually would and despite the situation, his lips twisted up in a fond smile.

“Yes,” Erza who had joined them after noting that the guild was still lit up despite the lateness of the hour, nodded with a thoughtful frown before adding softly with a weak smile. “It went around the guild when we were younger as well.” That had been a fun couple of weeks for the adults in the guild when one after the other they had all managed to come down with it, and barely had they got past the worst of it when someone else had come down with it. Come to think of it Makarov had disappeared for a week after that, probably needing a holiday after the chaos and glancing at the worried parents she wouldn’t be surprised if they needed a holiday after this as well.

“So it’s not too serious?” Natsu demanded, he had never heard of the illness before, and he was reasonably sure that he hadn’t had it. He glanced at Erza, realising that her recollection must’ve been from before he’d joined Fairy Tail as he was fairly sure he’d have remembered everyone being ill. Briefly, he wondered whether he should be worried about the fact that he hadn’t had it, but then he brushed that thought aside. All that mattered at the moment was that his children had it, and there was no way he was shifting from their side even if he was technically at risk, and there was no way he was going to mention it to the others in case they tried to order him away.

“It’s serious,” Porlysuica replied, and the Fire mage’s expression fell, and he opened his mouth, only to fall silent as she raised her hand to stop him before she continued to reply. “But with the medicine, we’re giving them and plenty of rest they’ll all be fine. The twins might take a little bit longer to shake it off as it seems they've got it worse, although considering they’ve both already shown their magic maybe that’s not so surprising.” Natsu scowled at her words. He had finally come to terms with how early their magic had developed thanks to the easy acceptance from Mira and the rest of the guild, but the old worries flared up as he realised that it had made them more vulnerable to this illness and his voice wavered slightly as he forced himself to ask.

“But they’ll still be fine?”

“Yes,” the immediacy if her answer reassured him and he relaxed slightly, although it didn’t completely quell the guilt he was feeling over the fact that their early development had made their illness worse. “We’ve given them the first dose of the medicine, and they’ll need to take more in four hours, but they’ll probably sleep until then as it takes a lot of energy to fight the illness. I suggest that those of you who don’t need to be here, go and get some rest as I’m sure your help will be needed over the next few days,” Porlysuica added glancing around at the gather mages. Her gaze lingering on Makarov who looked particularly unenthusiastic about the idea of retiring for the night and she arched a knowing eyebrow at him when he met her gaze, and he sighed and nodded.

“She’s right,” Makarov added turning to look at Lisanna, Elfman and Erza who were looking reluctant to leave, but he could see them accepting defeat as he added his voice to Porlysuica’s. Bowing his head, he turned and headed for the door, knowing that Porlysuica would be along to join him once she had everything settled here and leaving the others to say their goodnights. Erza turned and headed for Gray and Juvia, letting Lisanna move across to re-join Natsu before she said her own goodnights to the Dragon-slayer.

“I’ll try and get hold of Mira in the morning,” Lisanna whispered as she pressed a gentle kiss against Natsu’s cheek, before stepping back and offering him a reassuring smile. Porlysuica’s words had quelled most of her worries, as had the fact that she remembered having the illness herself when she was younger, but she could see that the Dragon-slayer wasn’t as convinced and she knew that having Mira home would help just as much as the twins getting better.

“Thank you,” Natsu whispered with a weak smile, and for a moment she was tempted to try and stay with him, but she could feel Porlysuia’s eyes boring into her back and so with a defeated sigh she gave a small nod. With a last lingering look at her niece and nephew she turned and began to herd her brother out of the room, shushing him when he loudly promised to be back the next morning and speeding up her efforts as she caught the healer’s eyes narrowing in warning.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Erza promised softly coming up to him after she’d finished speaking to Gray, briefly wrapping her arms around him in a surprisingly gentle hug, and seeing the concern in her eyes as she looked at him Natsu returned the gesture wholeheartedly. After a moment she pulled away and surprising him she leant up and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before turning and hurrying after the others before she could get into trouble with the healer. Porlysuica and Wendy were the last to leave, both healers promising to be back in four hours even though technically only one of them would be needed, and stating that they would be in the guestrooms just along the corridor just in case anything else happened before then.

   Quiet settled over the infirmary now that the children were sleeping and the others had left, and Natsu felt his earlier worries seeping back in as he shifted uneasily on the seat, his eyes fixated on his children as he was scared that something could happen if he dared take his eyes off them for even a moment. The more logical part of his mind knew that he was overly worried and that if Mira had been here, he would have felt less on edge. A fact that was reinforced by the pang that went through him when he caught sight of Gray gently whispering reassurances to Juvia out of the corner of his eye, and he knew that if he turned around, then he would find Alzack and Bisca in a similar position.

****

Two days later:

   Natsu sighed softly as he stretched wearily before resettling in the uncomfortable chair that had been his home for the past couple of days. Asuka and Freya had both improved to the point where Porlysuica had agreed to let them both go home to continue recovering, although she or Wendy was still checking up on them a couple of times a day and to deliver more medicine. However, while Mercury and Sakura had both shown signs of improvement due to the medicine they were on, they were still too ill to be released from the infirmary, and so Natsu had taken up residence refusing to leave their side especially as no one had managed to get hold of Mira just yet.

   Scrubbing at his eyes and ignoring the urge to curl up and sleep he instead leant forward, gently rearranging the blankets over the pair and checking that the runes acting as a protective barrier were still up and working. His expression softened as Mercury snuffled slightly before rolling over and cuddling up against his sister, and his hand trembled slightly as he reached out to gently brush his fingers across both of their cheeks, noting that the fever had gone down slightly although they were both warmer than usual. As though in response to his own distress Sakura began to stir, a soft cry breaking free and he quickly shushed her softly, but when it became clear she was settling in for a good cry he settled himself more firmly in the chair before launching into one of the many dragon stories that he had memorised.

**

“Mira? Thank goodness I got through at last,” Lucy cried as the communication lacrima finally connected and the Take-over mage’s face came into sight, both she and Lisanna had been trying to get through for the past couple of days without any luck and she had been worried that she wasn’t going to manage to reach the older woman.

“Lucy? What’s wrong?” Mira demanded her blue eyes darkening as she studied the Celestial mage’s expression, seeing the exhaustion and worry in her eyes, and dread pooled in her stomach as she realised that it had to be an emergency to put that kind of expression on Lucy’s face.

“The twins are in the infirmary,” Lucy explained quickly as she saw the dread dawning on Mira’s face and knowing that she would only make it worse if she dragged it out, it didn’t make it easier to see the dread morphing into full-blown worry on her friend’s face and she hastily continued. “They’ve caught Magical Energy Deficiency. Asuka and Freya have it as well although they’re on the mend, the twins are worse,” her voice was barely above a whisper as she added the last part. Unsurprised when she saw Mira take a half-step back at the news before raising a trembling hand to grasp the locket hanging around her neck for a second before taking a deep breath to steady herself.

“How bad is it?” Mira demanded urgently even as she disappeared from view and Lucy could hear her moving around and the sound of clothes being flung into a bag, apparently the older woman didn’t plan on wasting any time in coming back. The fact that she hadn’t asked what it was telling Lucy that she probably recalled having it when she was younger.

“It’s bad,” she admitted tersely, her brow furrowing as she recalled how poorly all the children had looked when they were first diagnosed. But Mercury and Sakura had looked decidedly worse than the other two, and even now she knew they hadn’t improved as much as the other two, but there was no way she was going into graphic detail when she knew Mira was already in a worried frenzy, so instead, she focused on the positive. “But Porlysuica and Wendy are looking after them, and they seem optimistic.” Which was true enough, and given how common the illness was she didn’t think there was any reason to doubt them and from the look on Mira’s face as she paused and looked directly it was clear the older woman had, had similar thoughts.

“How’s Natsu?” Mira asked softly after a moment.

“He’s doing okay,” Lucy replied quietly although she couldn’t quite keep the concern out of her voice as she added. “He hasn’t left their side which is why I’m the one calling.” He had taken a brief break the first morning that the Twins had been in the infirmary, and unfortunately, their fevers had spiked during that short period, and he had returned to find them the centre of a flurry of attention, and he had refused to move since them. Not that she blamed him in the slightest, although it was worrying because she knew that he wasn’t getting any real rest.

“Tell him I’ll be home as soon as I can,” Mira said softly, and she was about to return to her packing, but then she hesitated and turned back to the lacrima. “And Lucy…”

“Yeah?”

 “Make sure he looks after himself,” the Take-over mage pleaded with a worried expression, frowning slightly as she added. “I know what he’s like especially when Sakura and Mercury are concerned.” He had refused to sleep the first few times they had been ill and at one point had wound up partially collapsed due to exhaustion. Since then she had always made sure to keep a closer eye on him whenever the twins were ill, and she was worried about what he might do now that she wasn’t there to watch over him.

“I will,” the Celestial mage promised at once, knowing why Mira was concerned and wincing as she knew that he was already showing signs of pushing himself too far and she knew that it was unlikely that he would listen to her on the matter, but she would still try. Maybe she could get Lyra to help sing him to sleep or something if it became absolutely necessary.

“Thank you,” Mira managed a wan smile before turning back to her packing even as she continued to speak, relieved that she had gotten into the habit of travelling light. “I’ll see you soon, I’m heading for the train station now, but it’ll still take me a couple of days at least to get back.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Lucy replied, before adding quietly. “I’ll try and contact you if anything else happens.” Her fingers were crossed as she said that, praying that nothing else would happen before Mira returned as they had, had more than enough drama for the past few days and she was hoping that everything would get back to normal relatively quickly.

“Thanks, Lucy,” Mira murmured with a last smile before waving her hand at the lacrima, and Lucy sighed as the orb went dark before getting to her feet. She wanted to let Natsu know that she had got hold of Mira at last, hoping that the news that she was on her way back would cheer him up, and maybe allow her to convince him to rest for a bit.

**

“Natsu?” Lucy called softly as she stepped into the infirmary, waiting until he had tilted his head to look at her before continuing, wincing as she took in how tired and stressed he looked and she hoped that her news would help a little. “I managed to get hold of Mira, and she’s on her way back.”

“Good,” Natsu let out a soft sigh of relief at the news before glancing back his children with worried eyes, his voice quiet as he added. “They keep asking for her…” He knew that it was foolish to take it personally, but it hurt to realise that he wasn’t able to do much to help them fight this and he couldn’t even give them the one person they really wanted at the moment.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Lucy reassured as she watched him gently rearranging the wet clothes on their heads, noting the sadness beneath the worry and wondering what he was thinking about. Another part of her was marvelling at how good he was them, and she smiled slightly remembering all the doubts he’d had during Mira’s pregnancy, and during the first few months after the Twins had been born, there was no sign of that hesitancy now, and despite the situation, it warmed her heart.

“How are Freya and Asuka?” Natsu asked softly as he glanced up, realising that he hadn’t seen any of the others since Porlysuica had let them take the girls home and he hoped that was a good sign.

“Freya’s a little bit better than the twins,” Lucy reported as she had bumped into Gray earlier when he was out to buy some soup to try and tempt Freya to eat something, and there had been a spark of optimism in the Ice mage’s eyes when he’d reported that she was doing better. “And Asuka is already demanding to be out of bed,” she added with a small smile which he halfheartedly tried to return, knowing from experience how boisterous and demanding the young cowgirl could be especially when she got an idea fixed in her mind, and he almost pitied Bisca and Alzack having to deal with her.

   The smile dropped away though as he turned back to his children, wishing desperately that he was in the position of struggling to keep his children in bed. While he was relieved to hear that the others were doing better, it only emphasised just how ill Mercury and Sakura were, and even the knowledge that it indicated that they were both incredibly powerful was doing little to bolster his spirits. He trusted Wendy and Porlysuica when they said that the Twins should pull through with minimal difficulty, but until he saw it for himself, there was no way he was going to be able to relax completely.

“They’re going to be fine,” Lucy repeated softly as she caught the shift in his expression, and wanting desperately to ease the fear lingering in his expression. She had sworn years ago when they had finally got him back to himself that she would always do everything in her power to keep that expression off his face, and while she realised this situation was beyond her control, she couldn’t help but feel as though she had failed. As she watched he yawned widely and the promise she’d made to Mira flashed through her mind, and she cautiously spoke up. “Why don’t you take a break? You look exhausted.”

“I’m not leaving them,” Natsu replied instantly, his eyes flashing as he glanced up at her and she sighed as she took in the stubborn set to his chin knowing from experience that he was unlikely to back down when he was in this kind of mood.

“What about just closing your eyes for a bit? There are spare beds in here, and I can keep an eye on them for you,” she forced herself to try again her own concern for him bleeding through into her voice, and for a moment his expression seemed to waver as his eyes darted to the empty bed beside the Twins’ and hope flared, only to die as he stubbornly shook his head.

“I’m fine,” he muttered shifting his attention back to the Twins, clearly trying to end the conversation and Lucy narrowed her eyes at the gesture, barely resisting the urge to growl in frustration. Why was it that his stubbornness was one of his best points when they were in a battle, but the rest of the time it was one of his worst qualities?

“No you’re not,” she snapped after a moment, and he jolted at her tone but refused to look at her, and she nearly shouted the last bit. “You’re exhausted!” She winced a moment later when Mercury shifted, regretting the volume even before Natsu finally looked at her, shooting her an angry glare for nearly waking his son.

“I said I’m fine,” he hissed, and she caught the brief flicker of flames across his clenched hands and with a sigh she held up her own hands in surrender. She had known from the start that it wasn’t going to be an easy task to convince him to rest, but she hadn’t been expecting such anger, and she didn’t want to risk a proper argument especially without Mira here to mediate.

“Alright,” Lucy said softly before turning and heading for the door, realising that he needed some time to cool down, but as she reached the door, she paused and added quietly. “Just bear in mind you’re not alone in this, okay?” She knew that he was missing Mira even more than he had been letting on, and she was worried that he was forgetting that the rest of them were still here.

“Fine.”

****

The next day:

   Natsu was absolutely exhausted, but he steadfastly refused to leave the Twins side until they were completely out of danger even though he had an endless stream of offers from his guildmates to watch over them while he rested. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, but he was terrified that something else could go wrong if he dared venture away from their sides. It was that fear that kept him from sleeping for more than a few moments at a time, and every time he dozed off he would wake in a panic, not calming until he had thoroughly checked that there was no change in their condition even if someone else was sat with them at the time.

   Wearily he rubbed a hand over his eyes as he let out a quiet yawn, resolutely ignoring his body crying out at him to let it rest even though he knew that he was probably going to regret it later. Wearily he stretched out his stiff body, making a note to speak to the old man about getting more comfortable seats in the infirmary, or at least to get permission to burn this one once the Twins were ready to go home, although he might just do that anyway regardless of what Makarov might say to him. An unhappy whimper from the bed caught his attention, and the brief flicker of humour disappeared as he leant forward, reaching out to brush his fingers gently against Sakura’s cheek as she continued to make unhappy noises.

“Shh Sakura,” he cooed softly as he carefully reached out and scooped her into his arms, easily readjusting his hold with the ease of long practice. As he stared down into watery eyes the same colour as his own, he couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that once upon a time he had been terrified by this very action. Terrified that he might accidentally hurt one of his children, and now he couldn’t imagine not holding either of his children. Despite his exhaustion and lingering worries he couldn’t stop himself smiling down at Sakura for a moment, before softly beginning yet another story, his voice slightly hoarse after hours spent talking to them.

**

That evening:

   Lucy sighed softly as she slipped back into the infirmary. Unsurprised to find that Natsu hadn’t moved from his seat beside the twins and from the look of him that he hadn’t managed to catch even a wink of sleep even though Porlysuica had told him that the twins were well and truly past the worst of it now. For a moment she hovered by the doorway before taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she had promised Mira that she would make sure he took care of himself and she was determined to keep her word.

“Natsu,” she greeted quietly as she headed towards the bed, noting how he jumped at her voice and her concern rose as she knew how difficult it was to startle him and it indicated just how tired he must be.

“Hey, Lucy.”

“This has got to stop,” Lucy said sternly as she came to a halt on the far side of the bed. Glancing briefly at the twins and noting with a small twitch of her lips that they were both fast asleep before fixing Natsu with a fierce glare refusing to allow the conversation to go the way it had the day before. “You’ve got to rest!” He looked even worse up close, his skins paler than usual with dark bags under his eyes and her own eyes narrowed as she caught the odd gleam in his eyes. _He almost looks sick,_ she thought with a frown before brushing it aside as a side effect of his exhaustion after all she couldn’t remember the last time he had actually been ill.

“But…”

“They’re already over the worst of it,” She gestured at them as she cut across his weak protest, determined not to let him have the chance to come up with proper arguments. Planting her hands on her hips as she continued with a determined expression. “And I’m here, and do you really think I’d let anything happen to either of them?”

“No…” Natsu hastily shook his head in response to her question, he trusted her with the twins, but the idea of leaving them still unsettled him, and he added in a small voice. “It’s just…”

“You’re worried,” Lucy finished for him gently, her expression softening as he nodded silently his gaze fixated on his children. For a moment she just studied him, seeing the concern and fear still lingering beneath the exhaustion and her heart went out to him, but she knew that she had to stay firm with him. “I know, but at this rate, you’re just going to make yourself ill, and that won’t help them or Mira when she gets home.”

“I know,” Natsu replied with a sigh. Wincing as he imagined how Mira would react if she came home and found him in this state,  as it was one of the few things that she was willing to argue with him about. And her temper the last time he had pushed himself too far had been truly terrifying to behold, and he swallowed hard just at the memory.

“Just go and sleep for a couple of hours at least,” Lucy ordered softly, catching his expressions and sensing that he was beginning to weaken and adding with a small smile as she stepped slightly closer to the bed. “And maybe grab a shower?”

“Are you saying that I smell?” Natsu demanded with narrowed eyes, but she could tell that there was no heat behind it and she merely shot him a teasing look.

“Maybe.”

   Natsu rolled his eyes at her reply, and her expression brightened when he offered her a smile, although it was weaker than his usual grin. Turning his gaze back to Sakura and Mercury he hesitated for a moment before sighing, realising that she was right and that he really did need to rest, and he knew that they would be safe with her. With a soft noise of defeat he turned and looked at her, realising that she was watching him with an expectant expression and smiled again before giving a small nod.

“Thanks, Lucy.”

“You’re welcome,” Lucy replied calmly, while inside she was dancing a victory dance as she thought that it would’ve taken a much longer argument to get him to go and rest, especially with his usual stubbornness and she guessed he really must be tired if he had capitulated so quickly.

   As soon as he got to his feet he knew that something was wrong. There was a loud roaring noise in his ears and he could feel the colour draining out of his as he swayed suddenly and desperately he reached out towards the chair he had just vacated in the hopes of steadying himself, but something told him it was already too late even before the world dissolved into a whirl of colours and shadows.

“Natsu?” Lucy had realised that there was something wrong when she saw him blindly reaching for the chair, and she had already begun to move towards him when Natsu’s eyes became unfocused for a brief moment before abruptly he began to fall. With a panicked cry, she darted forward, barely managing to get her arms around him in time to carefully lower him the rest of the way to the ground, fear flooding her as she realised that he was unconscious and frantically she called to him. “Natsu! Natsu! Can you hear me? Natsu!”


	4. 3: Part 2

   Lucy could feel panic threatening to overtake her as she desperately shook the Dragon-slayer’s arm when he showed no sign of responding to her frantic cries, but even that elicited no sign of a response from Natsu, and she clutched desperately at his clothes as she tried to calm herself enough to think logically. It was harder than she thought to gather her thoughts, as she found herself unable to drag her gaze away from his pale face and the faint flush of fever that was now becoming visible and she could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead and she swallowed hard at the sight. Natsu never reacted to fevers or heat in this way.

   She knew that this had to go beyond mere exhaustion and that she needed to get either Porlysuica or Wendy to look at him, but there was no way that she could leave him and the Twins unsupervised even for the few moments it would take her to get downstairs and ask for help. Besides which she was reluctant to leave him on the ground, and she knew that there was no way that she could lift him, let alone haul him across to a bed and lift him onto it, or at least not without risking making things worse. For a moment she hesitated before reaching down for her key pouch, she felt bad for using her Spirits in this way, but it was the only option she had at that moment.

“Gate of the Lion I open thee! Loke!” She’d barely got the words out before Loke materialised beside her, instinctively looking around for danger and coming up short when he realised that they were in the guild infirmary. And she could see the confusion in his expression when he turned to look at her before his eyes widened as he took in Natsu lying in her arms and the twins sleeping on the bed beside them.

“Lucy?”

“Loke,” Lucy offered him a tense smile of welcome, always happy to see her spirits even when it wasn’t under the best circumstances before getting quickly down to business as she glanced back down at the Dragon-slayer in her lap, fresh urgency flooding her as she realised that his brow was furrowed now in pain. “Can you get Natsu on the bed and keep an eye on him and the twins while I get help?”

“Of course,” Loke agreed easily with no sign that he was irritated for being called for such a reason, and with gentle arms he bent and lifted Natsu with ease, freeing Lucy who quickly got back to her feet envying him for being able to do what she had wanted to be able to do. “What’s wrong with him?” He asked with a frown, feeling the heat coming of Natsu and realising it was even hotter than usual, and he could feel himself beginning to sweat from their closeness, and he quickly moved across to the next bed.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Lucy admitted anxiously as she watched Loke gently laying Natsu on the bed, stunned by how careful the Spirit was as he pulled the covers up over Natsu and it was only when he glanced in her direction that she remembered to continue. “He’s not slept for a couple of days, but this seems like it might be something more…” He couldn’t have caught the illness from the twins? Could he? She wondered as she recalled what Porlsuica had said about the illness, swallowing as she realised how bad it could be if he had.

“Go,” Loke ordered as he caught the flicker of fear in her eyes, offering her a reassuring smile when her eyes darted to him before gesturing at the unconscious Dragon-slayer as he added softly. “I’ve got him.” Even if Lucy hadn’t asked him to keep an eye on Natsu and the twins while she was gone, he would have done so anyway. He remained close to the guild despite spending most of his time in the Celestial world, and he felt the same concern for his friends now as he had back when he was a full guild-member, and he owed the Dragon-slayer for all the times he had protected Lucy.

“Thank you,” Lucy whispered before turning on her heels and dashing for the door, not allowing herself to look back as she left the infirmary hoping that Porlysuica was in the guild at the moment and not out checking on Freya or Asuka.

**

“Porlysuica!” Lucy cried as she dashed into the main hall of the guild. Glancing around wildly until her gaze landed on the familiar pink hair and she quickly ran towards the older woman who was sat at a table with Makarov, Wendy and Erza. Who all turned towards her at her shout, startled to see her in the hall when they knew that she had been heading upstairs to spend time with Natsu and the twins.

“What is it?” Porlysuica demanded. Immediately getting to her feet as she saw the panic on the Celestial mage’s face, knowing from experience that it took a lot to put the younger woman in that kind of state, and she paled at the thought that something else might have happened with the twins. They had been so ill, but she had been confident that they were past the worst of it, just like the other two, had she been wrong?

“Natsu’s collapsed…” Lucy explained breathlessly as she halted in front of them, trying to keep her voice as low as possible, not wanting to spread unnecessary panic through the guild until they knew exactly what was going on. “He went to go and have some rest, but he passed out, and I couldn’t get him to wake up,” she could feel her eyes beginning to sting as his lax face flashed through her mind once more, and it was only Erza moving to her side and grasping her arm supportively that stopped her from bursting into tears.

“Is he feverish?” Porlysuica asked as she immediately began to head in the direction that Lucy had come from, and Lucy let Erza guide her after her. Barely aware of the fact that Makarov and Wendy were close on their heels as he nodded in response, her fear rising as she took in the pinched expression that had appeared on the Healer’s face and the increased speed that she was moving at. It didn’t help that Erza had paled at the news, and Lucy found herself unable to watch their expressions any more, her stomach churning with fear. Natsu was going to be okay, right?

**

Half an hour later:

“It’s MED just like the children but more severe,” Porlysuica reported grimly as she moved across to join the worried group that had gathered while she was examining the Dragon-slayer. For a moment her gaze lingered on the twins who were currently being held by Lucy and Lisanna both women needing the comfort at the moment before she frowned and asked softly. “But surely he would’ve had it as a child?” Those involved with the de-ageing incident exchanged uneasy looks at the question before Erza sighed and shook her head, a hint of anger in her eyes at the realisation that even after all this time his childhood was causing him problems.

“He never had it after he joined Fairy Tail,” she replied shortly, remembering that the Dragon-slayer had always been ridiculously healthy when they were younger. Often much to their annoyance when they were all struck low by colds and such, and he was still running around with boundless energy. She hesitated for a moment, and then her expression darkened as she added in a low voice. “And he was isolated from other mages before that, so…”

“So there was no chance for him to get it,” Porlysuica said with a sigh, although she had known what his childhood was like after healing him during the incident she had assumed that he would have had the illness once he’d joined Fairy Tail. It had been a dangerous assumption to make. She shook her head at herself, disappointed that she hadn’t bothered to ask him before letting him remain with the twins, although she doubted that he would have agreed to leave them even if he was aware of the risk to his own health. “He’s going to be in for a rough time of it. It’s a horrible illness for children, but for someone his age and with the amount of magical power he has…”

“He will be alright won’t he?” Gray demanded in alarm as he took in how grim her expression had become, exchanging panicked glances with Erza and Lucy before his gaze drifted to the twins. What would happen to them and Mira if…No…There was no way the flamebrain could be beaten by something like this, right? He had only popped into the guild to pick up the next doses of supplement for Freya, and nothing could have prepared him for the situation he had walked into, and now he found himself feeling terror beyond what he had felt even when his daughter was at the worst point of the illness.

“I can’t say for certain at this point,” the healer admitted, and they all paled at her words, having expected…or hoped that she would say that although it was serious, there was no way it could be that threatening to Natsu. After all, it was a children’s disease, and Natsu was stronger and usually healthier than most, and they all looked across at the unconscious mage with renewed concern as she continued. “The next couple of days are going to be critical, and it’s essential that he’s not left on his own at any time. There’s a high risk that his body will give out, and if he’s on his own…”

“We can watch over him,” Lucy said instantly, there was no way they would have left him on his own even if Porlysuica hadn’t said it was essential and she glanced at Lisanna as she continued with a worried frown and a slight waver to her. “We need to let Mira know about this, I know she’s on her way back already.” She didn’t want to imagine how Mira would react if she walked in on this without any warning. It wasn’t something she would wish on her worst enemy, let alone one of her closest friends.

“I tried to get through to her earlier to give her an update on the twins but nothing worked,” Lisanna’s expression was anxious as she glanced down at Mercury who was playing quietly with the ties on the front of her top, gently pressing a kiss to his silvery hair more to comfort herself than anything else. It had been hard enough seeing the twins ill, but for Natsu to fall victim as well. It didn’t seem as though her family was having any luck at all at the moment. “I’ll try again in a little while. Hopefully, she was just in an area with poor connection…”

“Keep trying,” Erza interjected with a frown, before gesturing towards Natsu with a shaking hand. “I don’t want her to find out by rushing back in here and finding him like this.” She could just imagine how Mira was going to respond to the news, knowing that the take-over mage had never forgotten or truly gotten over how close they had come to losing Natsu back then and that this situation was skirting too close to those past events. For all of them, she added silently to herself as she glanced uneasily at the unconscious Dragon-slayer.

“I will.”

“Wendy, I need you to go to my house and get more supplies,” Porlysuica ordered turning to the younger healer who nodded in understanding, before turning her attention to Makarov who was hovering quietly at the end of the bed, worried eyes fixated on Natsu, and her expression softened before she called to him. “Makarov you’re going to need to let the guild know what’s happening, and for goodness sake check that they’ve all had it. If any of them are uncertain, get them into isolation, and either Wendy or I will check them over in a bit, and make sure they don’t come anywhere near this room.”

“Understood,” Makarov said heavily, reluctantly dragging his gaze away from Natsu to glance briefly across at the Twins relieved to see that they were still asleep despite the chaos going on around them his heart aching for them and for Natsu. It had been bad enough when the young ones were ill, but then he’d had the reassurance that this illness was common and treatable. Natsu was a completely different case, and he couldn’t quite stave off the feeling of dread that was settling over him, and he knew that his emotions were clear for everyone to see as he turned his gaze towards his old-time friend. “Please…”

   Porlysuica gave a sharp nod, already knowing what he was going to ask and with a sigh he turned and headed for the door, knowing that the sooner he got the rest of the guild sorted out the sooner he would be able to return to the infirmary.

“It would be better if the twins slept elsewhere tonight, it’s going to be a rough night, and it’s not something they should have to go through,” Porlyusica added as she turned her attention to the rest of the group. Her expression softening as she glanced across at Mercury and Sakura, sharing Makarov’s relief that they had managed to sleep through the worst of the current situation.

“Me and Elfman can take them,” Lisanna spoke up at once as she glanced down at her nephew, part of her wanted nothing more than to stay by Natsu’s side, but she knew that the healer was right, the twins didn’t need to see this especially when Mira wasn’t there as well. Besides she knew that Erza and the others would make sure that the Dragon-slayer was properly cared for. “And I’ll keep trying to get hold of Mira.”

“Good,” Porlysuica nodded approvingly before glancing at the others and adding seriously. “The rest of you should take turns sitting with him, having a familiar face and voice at his side should help although either I or Wendy will be here or next door at all times.” She had never dealt with someone of Natsu’s age and power levels suffering from the illness, and in all honesty, she had no idea if the usual treatments would work, and all the uncertainties were making her nervous, especially as she knew how precious her patient was to the entire guild.

“I’ll take first watch,” Lucy offered as she gently passed Sakura to Lisanna, relieved that there was something that she could offer to do to help and in all honesty, she felt that she needed the time with him to reassure herself that he was still there with them. For now, at least, a traitorous part of her mind whispered, and it took more effort than she wanted to admit to suppressing it. Natsu would pull through this, he had to.

   Blinking she was startled to come out of her thoughts to discover that the others were heading off to deal with everything that needed doing, Gray promising to come back later once he’d been home to check on Freya and let Juvia know what was happening. Erza heading off to get some rest after announcing that she would take the night watch, gently pointing out to the Ice mage that he still had his daughter to worry about and that he shouldn’t leave her and Juvia alone overnight even for Natsu’s sake. It was clear from his slightly mulish expression that he didn’t entirely agree with her assessment, but as usual, he backed down when her gaze turned dangerous. Wendy had already disappeared to find Jet so that she could go and get supplies from Porlysuica’s house, while Lisanna had taken the twins to find her brother so that they could get them settled and try to and contact Mira once more.

   Finally, it was just Porlysuica, and Lucy left in the infirmary with Natsu and watching as the Healer bustled around setting up monitoring lacrimas around the bed Lucy cautiously moved forward until she could drop into the chair that Natsu had been using for the past few days. Glancing nervously at Porlysuica she reached out and grasped one of his hands, stifling a wince at the heat he was letting off and instead tightening her hold as the older woman gave her an approving nod.

“Talk to him I’m sure he can hear you,” Porlysuica encouraged with surprising gentleness, rolling her eyes slightly at the surprised glance she got in return before adding quietly. “I’ll be back in a bit, and the lacrimas will tell me if something happens, but don’t hesitate to shout for me if you notice anything.” As soon as she got a nod of acknowledgement from the Celestial mage, she headed for the door, easily able to see that the younger woman needed some time alone with Natsu and trusting Lucy to watch over him properly.

“Natsu…I…” She trailed off choking up as she studied him, the flush had spread and he was sweating profusely now, his brow furrowed with pain as small shivers ran through his overheated body. He looked bad. Far worse than any of the children had, but what made it worse was that she was so used to seeing him bouncing around and causing havoc regardless of how ill he was. _But this is different, this time you could die._ Sniffling she scrubbed angrily at her eyes, she couldn’t afford to fall apart yet, not when Natsu depended on them to help him hold on and with that thought in mind she straightened and took a deep breath. “Mira’s going to kill you when you get better, honestly what were you thinking?”

_Please come back to us Natsu…_

**

Later that night:

   Natsu's face was twisted in pain, with beads of sweat dripping down his face as he shifted restlessly on the bed fighting against the covers that had been wrapped around him. His temperature had risen steadily over the last few hours and the only time he had managed to wake was to throw up what little he’d eaten that day, and he’d barely been able to respond to the questions that Porlysuica and Wendy had thrown at him trying to take advantage of the fact that he was awake. He hadn’t managed to stay awake for long, and that seemed to have marked the start of the decline in his health, and unlike the children, he hadn’t shown any signs of responding to the medicine the older healer had managed to force down him. Porlysuica, Wendy and Levy were currently in the library trying to find anything that would help Natsu, but she knew that they had little hope of finding anything. The number of cases where adults got this disease was extremely low, the older healer having only seen one other instance and that had been years ago, and that individual had been nowhere near as magically strong as Natsu was.

   Erza sighed softly as she reached out to lay a fresh damp cloth on his forehead, a futile gesture so far as his normal body temperature combined with the fever dried it out almost instantly but she needed to feel as though she was actually doing something to help. It was terrifying seeing him in this state, and it had taken her back to the terrible days when they weren’t sure he was going to survive after Erigor’s attack, and she had desperately hoped to never have to feel that fear again. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pushed sweat-soaked hair out of his face, wishing yet again that they had realised the risk before it had got to this stage. Although she doubted that they would have been able to persuade Natsu to leave his children’s side even if he was aware of the risk.

“M-Mer..cury,” Natsu muttered fretfully as he shifted his head from side to side and pulling away from her touch, a distressed expression replacing the pain as he reached out, searching blindly for his son even though he wasn’t properly awake and his expression grew more alarmed when nothing met his search, and he shifted more violently on the bed.

“Shh Natsu,” Erza said soothingly as she grasped the searching hand wincing slightly at the heat coming off him before gently squeezing it, relieved when his movements eased at the gesture although she wasn’t surprised to see that his expression remained as distressed as ever. He had been asking for the twins off and on for the past few hours, each time managing to sound more frantic despite their reassurances that they were doing much better and not even Lucy had been able to convince him.

“Sakura…”

“They’re both fine Natsu,” she repeated with a hint of desperation, wanting to get through to him as she knew that it wasn’t doing him any good to keep worrying over them like this, but unfortunately there wasn’t much else she could do but speak to him. “Remember they’re already getting better, so you don’t need to worry about them.”

“But…”

“They’re fine.”

   Finally, he fell silent once more, but the worried frown didn’t disappear although it faded slightly as the pain surged to the front once more and Erza sighed, reaching up to gently brush her fingers over his forehead. The heat he was releasing was painful to touch, but she refused to move away, instead repeating the gesture in the hopes that she would be able to soothe that expression away, her eyes softening as he leant into her touch with a faint whimper. Shushing him softly she kept up her ministrations, barely noting the redness spreading across her skin from the heat he was letting off as she began to recite some of the stories she had overheard him telling the twins, hoping that the words would soothe him as much as it comforted them.

**

   It was nearly an hour later that she detected a change in his breathing pattern, immediately falling silent her voice slightly hoarse by now as she leant over him studying him narrowed eyes. The second hitch in his breathing was the only warning she got before the monitoring lacrimas began to peel, making her jump at the loud noise and terror flooded her as she realised what that meant. She was just turning to shout for help when Porlysuica charged into the infirmary with a speed that belied her age, and without being asked she stepped aside to give the Healer room to work.

“What happened?” Porlysuica demanded urgently.

“I don’t know,” Erza replied her voice trembling slightly, and she had to swallow hard before she could continue. “Something in his breathing changed and then the alarms…Natsu!” Her explanation was cut off as the Dragon-slayer arched off the bed with a pained cry, his breathing now coming in short, sharp pants that were painful to listen to. Instinctively she took a step towards her friend, desperate to help, only to come up short as she realised that his eyes were open and she shivered at the fear and confusion lurking in the hazy olive.

“Natsu!” Porlysuica shouted recovering from her surprise, reaching out to grasp his shoulders with gentle hands as he swayed violently, her eyes narrowing with concern as she watched all the colouring draining from his face as he clearly struggled to draw in enough air and her voice was gentler as she tried to soothe him. “I need you to stay as calm as you can for me.” For a moment panicked eyes met hers, but it was clear that he didn’t fully recognise her through his confusion, and that uncertainty only fanned his panic as he tried to pull away with a weak cry.

“Talk to him,” the healer ordered glancing at Erza, hoping that a more familiar face and voice would be able to break through his panic. “You need to calm him down now!”

    Erza didn’t bother wasting time asking what was happening, instead rushing back to Natsu’s side and quickly taking Porlysuica’s place although rather than holding him up she had pulled him straight into a tight hug, ignoring his weak attempts to pull free.

“Natsu! Natsu!” She called urgently over and over until finally, she felt him stilling in her hold, although she wasn’t sure if that was just due to exhaustion. Cautiously she pulled back although she made sure to keep hold of him, and found herself staring into his eyes. The confusion and panic lingered but there was a hint of recognition in his gaze, and she let out a soft sigh of relief, unsure of what she would have done if he hadn’t recognised her. “Hey there,” she forced a smile keeping her voice soft and reassuring, knowing that it would take very little to send him spiralling back into his previous state of blind panic. “I know you’re scared at the moment, but you need to calm down so we can help you.”

“I…” Natsu’s voice was faint, and she could see that he didn’t truly comprehend what she was saying or what was going on around him, but at least he was calming slightly, and she could feel his breathing beginning to ease somewhat.

“Shh it’s okay,” she whispered gently as she caught a flicker of fresh agitation in his eyes, quickly drawing him back into a hug as she continued quietly unsure of whether any of her words would sink in, but hoping that her voice would at least ground him slightly. “You’re not very well right now, but you will be.” _You have to be_ , she absolutely refused to accept any other outcome, but she wasn’t about to voice that aloud knowing that it would just confuse him further. “Just let us look after you, alright?”

“’Kay,” Natsu whispered after a couple of minutes, and she bit her lip to prevent herself from bursting into tears at the coherent response, although she couldn’t stop herself from sniffling a couple of times as she buried her face into sweat-dampened pink hair. _Thank you, Natsu._

   She was unsurprised when he slumped against her a couple minutes later, what little energy his panic had managed to drum up disappearing as he calmed. Still, she couldn’t entirely quell the small flame of panic that reappeared as she gently eased him out of her arms and back down onto the bed and her hands shook slightly as she carefully rearranged the covers over him. Only then she did look up at the Healer, startled to find the older woman watching her with a soft expression on her face that was so different to her usual scowl that it only added to Erza’s uneasiness.

“Good job,” Porlysuica said softly, and Erza blinked at the unexpected praise glancing down at her feet for a moment. Recovering from her surprise, she looked up once more, finally taking note of the chart that the Healer was studying and noting the deepening frown on the older woman’s face with concern.

“What happened?”

“The illness is attacking his magic, and because much of a Dragon-slayer’s magic is centralised around their lungs...” Porlysuica trailed off with a sigh as she glanced down at Natsu, before adding under her breath although Erza was close enough to catch it. “We were lucky this time.” She hated mentioning luck when it came to healing, but she knew in this situation that they needed all the luck they could get. She just wasn’t sure they were going to get it.

“It’s attacking his lungs?!” Erza demanded her eyes wide with alarm, beginning to realise for the first time just how great the differences were between the children having this illness and Natsu having it, and she found herself desperately wishing that she had never needed to find out. “Is there anything we can do?” She wasn’t naïve enough to think this was the only time this was going to happen, and she trembled slightly at the thought of having to witness another attack, and she couldn’t quite keep the pleading out of her voice as she looked at the older woman.

“Not at the moment,” Porlysuica admitted with a sigh, hating that she couldn’t give the younger woman a more useful or optimistic answer but knowing that it was betting that lying to the Requip mage. “Until we’ve dealt with the main illness, all we can do is ride out these symptoms.” For as long as we can, the last bit was left unspoken but it hung heavily in the air between them, and she could tell from the way that Erza had paled that she had picked up on them.

“What if they get worse? Or we can’t calm him down?” Erza forced herself to ask, praying that they would never need to test either of those situations, but knowing how Natsu’s luck tended to run she had to ask.

“There are steps we can take. I just hope it doesn’t come to that,” Porlysuica replied grimly, her expression conveying just how bad the situation would be if she had to take those steps and Erza swallowed hard before replying softly.

“So do I.”

****

   It had been a long night, and Erza was utterly exhausted by the time morning finally arrived, and although reluctant to leave Natsu’s side she was relieved to hand over the vigil to Gray. The Ice Mage insisting on taking a turn now that Freya was well on the mend and after Juvia had practically chased him out of the house that morning after he had spent the night fretting about the Dragonslayer.  Twice more during the night, Natsu had taken a turn for the worse, his temperature rising to dangerous levels and his lungs threatening to give in under the strain of the illness attacking them. And both times Porlysuica and Wendy had been forced to magically intervene to keep him with them and even with both of them there it had been a close battle.

   The downside of the intervention had been that it had given the illness new magic to target, and while he was still with them, his strength was waning rapidly. In desperation Porlysuica had set up a drip, hoping that the additional doses of medicine would give him an edge in this battle but they could all tell from her strained expression and the terror lurking in Wendy’s eyes that if it didn’t work soon, then they might well lose the Fire Mage. Lisanna had intended to bring the Twins for a visit, in the hopes that it might help settle Natsu but they were now banned from the infirmary while Natsu remained so close to the edge.

   No one had yet been able to get hold of Mira, and they just hoped they would either get through or be able to stop her in person before she rushed into the scene awaiting her in the infirmary. The mood in the rest of the guild which had been rising once it was confirmed that all four children were on the mend had plummeted once more, with only those desperately needing money heading out on jobs, as too many of them considered Natsu family or owed him for past events. Despite the crowded guildhall though the building was unnervingly quiet as everyone waited to see what would happen, although no one argued when Makarov sternly informed them at only Natsu’s teammates and family were allowed into the infirmary at the time being.

**

   Gray was silent for the first half hour after Erza had left, although his gaze never once strayed from Natsu’s face even when Wendy came in to examine him and change the drip bag before slipping away as she took in the expression on the Ice mage’s face. Finally though Gray sighed softly before reaching out to grasp Natsu’s hand, wincing at the heat but refusing to let go, instead finding himself focusing on the last time they had sat like this and his fingers tightened automatically at the memories playing back through his mind.

“I never wanted to see you like this again,” he said softly although his voice seemed unreasonably loud in the silent room and he winced slightly, before refocusing on Natsu, taking in how small and vulnerable the Dragon-slayer looked at the moment. It didn’t help that he had been greeted that morning with the news of how close they had come to losing Natsu the night before, and he found himself swallowing back bile at that thought. Their relationship had never returned to the pre-de-ageing rivalry, and while they still challenged each other and bickered endlessly much to their spouses’ annoyance they were closer than ever before, and the idea of losing Natsu chilled him to the core. “You idiot, why didn’t you tell us that you hadn’t had it?”

   Part of him knew that it was possible that Natsu had thought that he’d had it before. But something told him that the Dragon-slayer had been fully aware of the risk that he was taking by staying with the twins, and the worst thing was that he couldn’t even truly be angry about that decision as he knew that he would have done the same for Freya. Still, it didn’t make it any easier to accept the fact that Natsu was in this situation, or that he had most likely known this was coming and chosen not to warn them, although Porlysuica had pointed out that in this case foreknowledge was unlikely to have helped them.

“Damn it Natsu, you don’t get to let something like this beat you!”

**

That evening:

   Lisanna sat beside Natsu, one hand firmly entangled with his while she ran her other finger through his hair trying to soothe him as he twisted restlessly on the bed once more in the grip of the fever which had been steadily rising for the past hour or so. Her eyes darkened as he let out a low whimper, hating the sight of him suffering like this and disheartened by the fact that there wasn’t more she could do to help. She hadn’t even managed to get through to Mira yet, and while she knew that Elfman and Lucy were continuing to try and get hold of her, she was starting to believe that they would just have to wait for Mira to get him. She didn’t want to imagine how her sister was going to react when she found Natsu like this.

   She was dragged out of her thoughts by another whimper from the Dragon-slayer, this one louder than the last and as she watched his eyes cracked open an inch and she immediately leant forward, regretting her reaction when he flinched at the sudden movement. It took a moment for his gaze to land on her, and she could see that he was having trouble focusing and she wondered if he even knew who it was with him.

“Mira..?” For a moment she thought that he had mistaken her for her sister, but then she realised that his gaze had wandered onwards and she could hear the question and longing in his voice, and she winced.

“She’s on her way home,” She replied gently wishing that she had a better answer to give him, and she could see him pause as he struggled to comprehend what she had said and she didn’t miss the pain that flashed through his eyes as his gaze slowly shifted back to her. “She’ll be here soon.”

“Mira…”

“Natsu…” Lisanna began only to freeze as his eyes slid shut once more, horror flooding her as his hand went lax in her hand sensing that this was more than simple unconsciousness and a moment later the lacrimas began to ring out once more confirming her suspicions. “Don’t you dare do this Natsu Dragneel!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks already, but her voice didn’t waver as she rose so that she could tower over him, barely paying attention to the sound of the door bursting open behind her as she continued with all the strength she could muster. “Mira needs you! Sakura and Mercury need you! Fairy Tail needs you!” I need you!

**

Two hours later:

   Lisanna was trembling and exhausted by the time Porlysuica reported that they had managed to stabilise Natsu once more. And she didn’t need the waver in the older woman’s voice to know just how close they had come to losing him this time and that thought made her shake even more as she dropped into the seat beside him. It had seemed as though he had lost the will to fight, and she knew that the only reason he was still with them was because the two healers had adamantly refused to admit defeat. Wendy had immediately crawled into one of the spare beds and dozed off seconds later, her magic completely drained from her efforts and Porlysuica didn’t look much better although she was hiding it reasonably well.

“His fever has gone down slightly,” Porlysuica reported wearily glancing down at Natsu, gently reaching down to brush her fingers briefly over his forehead and nodding when she no longer felt the need to hiss at the heat coming from his skin. “I’m hoping that might be a sign that he’s beginning to react to the medicine.”

“I hope so,” Lisanna whispered with a wan smile, unsure of whether the older woman was just trying to bolster their spirits and too afraid to seize hold of what might prove to be false hope.

“I’m going to get some rest, but don’t hesitate to wake me if anything changes,” Porlysuica continued with a small yawn, glancing anxiously at her patient once more before heading for the door without another word knowing that she would need to fill Makarov in on recent developments before she could go to sleep.

   Lisanna was staring blankly at Natsu, her mind unhelpfully replaying the frantic images of Wendy and Porlysuica trying to bring Natsu back to them. Replaying the moment his breathing had stopped, the sight of the older woman pounding on his chest, Wendy’s tears as she tried to repair the damage the disease was doing to his body. She had never seen anything like that before, especially not involving Natsu. She could probably count on one hand the number of times she had seen him in the infirmary, and that had always been after a battle, and he had always bounced back quicker than he should have, and she found herself unable to reconcile current events with her image of him being practically invincible.

   She nearly fell out of her chair when a warm hand landed on her shoulder, and clutching at her chest she looked up to find Lucy looking at her with an understanding expression, and she blinked having forgotten that the Celestial mage had joined them after the first hour. Idly she noted that the blonde looked just as drained as she felt, and there was evidence that she had cried at some point although she looked remarkedly composed as she met Lisanna’s gaze for a moment before her eyes shifted across to Natsu, softening as they landed on the Dragon-slayer.

“You should go and get some rest too,” Lucy said softly as she shifted her attention back to the Take-over mage, her eyes narrowing as she took in the tremors wracking the other girl and wishing that she knew what to say to reassure her completely. “I’ll stay with him.”

“But…”

“You’re exhausted,” Lucy cut across the weak protest in a gentle tone, before adding what she knew would probably be the most convincing argument. “And the Twins need their auntie right now.”

“I…” Lisanna trailed off as she realised that the Celestial mage was right, letting out a defeated sigh as she glanced at Natsu for a moment before reluctantly muttering. “You’re right.”

“I won’t leave him,” Lucy promised, before adding with a wry twist of her lips. “I doubt I could sleep even if I wanted to…” She had gone home earlier with the intention of resting, but she hadn’t been able to get Natsu out of her mind, and she doubted it would be any different if she tried again now, especially after seeing how close they had come to losing the Fire Mage. At least here she could be useful, and with Natsu, right in front of her, she could convince herself that he was still hanging on, and still fighting to come back to them.

“Yeah,” Lisanna whispered, doubting that she would be sleeping much if at all tonight, but at least she would be at home if the Twins or Elfman needed her and that thought was enough to force her shakily to her feet. For a moment she hesitated before stepping forward and leaning over the unconscious Dragon-slayer to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, before whispering quietly into his ear. “Don’t leave us Natsu. Please.” Straightening she offered Lucy a weak attempt at a smile before quietly heading for the door, although she hesitated for a couple of minutes before actually going through the door.

   Lucy sighed as she claimed the seat that Lisanna had been using, reaching out to grasp Natsu’s hand in her own as she studied him. She could have gone a lifetime without seeing him in this situation again, her fingers tightening at the thought that they had once again failed to protect him from the effects of his childhood, although she knew that he wouldn’t see it that way. Still, she knew that she wasn’t alone in her thoughts, having seen similar thoughts simmering in Gray’s eyes as he watched over Natsu and heard the remembered pain in Erza’s voice. The only plus side to having gone through the original de-ageing situation was that they knew that Natsu could overcome seemingly insurmountable odds…and it was that knowledge that was keeping their hope alive.

_You won then, and you can win now…_

****

The next afternoon:

   Mira ignored the various attempts to flag her down as she burst into the guild, rushing through the hall without even pausing to anyone as she headed for the steps. She bolted up the stairs taking them two at a time, her face twisted with concern and fear as she replayed the brief conversation with Lucy the other day. Hearing how ill her babies were had immediately sent her into a spiral of panic, and she had immediately turned for home, but unfortunately the job had been right near the border in a very remote village, and it had taken her ages to even get back to civilisation let alone find trains that would get her home.

   Bursting into the infirmary, she found herself coming up short as she found Lucy sat on the floor playing quietly with her children and she blinked at the sight of them. Noting that they must have improved dramatically from when she had last spoken to the Celestial mage before her gaze was drawn to the bed next to them all colour draining from her face as she realised who was in it. Her eyes widening as she took in Natsu’s still form and she froze, concern and fear warring for control as she took in the state he was in, and her expression darkened as she realised just how much he looked like he had back after Erigor’s attack and she felt her magic shifting and reacting to her emotions. Clenching her fists she struggled to calm herself, refusing to lose control so close to her children.

“Mira!” Lucy had whirled around as soon as she burst into the infirmary, instinctively scooping both toddlers into her lap only to pause as she realised who it was, her eyes widening with alarm as she caught the magic whirling around the other mage. Cursing she realised just how close the older woman was to losing control and cautiously climbing to her feet she took a couple of steps backwards, shushing Sakura when she tried to cry out for Mira having spotted the familiar figure. She could see that Mira was struggling to reign herself in and she didn’t want to risk pushing over the edge, once again cursing the fact that they hadn’t managed to forewarn her about Natsu.

“How are they?” Mira asked after several minutes her gaze not shifting from Natsu, but she knew that she wasn’t calm enough to talk about him just yet even though she was desperate to know what was wrong with him. At least the twins were clearly doing better if they were up and playing, albeit more quietly than normal.

“They’re over the worst of it, they just need to get lots of rest and Porlysuica has given us some supplements to give them until they’re completely better,” Lucy replied softly. Glancing down at the pair in her arms and offering them a small smile when they stared up at her, and she carefully tightened her hold on them as she felt them snuggling closer. They had finally been allowed to come for a visit when Natsu had managed to stay reasonably stable for the rest of the night and the morning, although their hopes that having them close might rouse him hadn’t been met.

“And Natsu? You didn’t say that he was ill as well?” Mira demanded, a hint of accusation entering her voice despite her efforts to subdue it. She knew that they must’ve tried to contact her, but her rational side had gone out the window the moment she had seen the state Natsu was in. Finally turning to look across at the Celestial mage, her expression softening as she took in the sight of her children snuggling against their god-mother and she ached to take them in her arms, but Natsu…

“He wasn’t,” Lucy hastily assured her, fighting the urge to roll her eyes, of course, she wouldn’t have failed to say something like that. But she brushed the urge aside, knowing how worried the older woman had to be at finding her entire family ill. “He collapsed the night before last. At first, we thought it was probably just exhaustion as he barely rested since the twins fell ill…” She winced as Mira’s expression darkened, knowing that she had promised to prevent that happening, and she wasn’t entirely convinced that his exhaustion hadn’t contributed to the issue although the others had tried to convince her that it wouldn’t have made a difference if he’d spent time resting or not.

“But…” Mira prompted in a more gentle tone, catching the guilt swirling in the other woman’s eyes and guessing that Natsu had been too stubborn about staying at the twins side, and she made a note to have a word with him about it once he was better. Although they’d had that discussion several times already, and she doubted very much that she would have better luck convincing her stubborn husband this time either.

“He’s got what the twins had,” Lucy replied softly, her expression pained as she glanced across at her best friend before swallowing hard as she forced herself to continue. “Only it’s worse because he’s an adult, and his magical power is so much greater than theirs.”

“How much worse?” Mira demanded anxiously as she inched closer to his bed when Lucy had first said that it was the same thing that the twins had she had been about to relax. After all, they were clearly on the mend even if it had taken a few days, and she knew that Natsu was more likely to be able to throw off an illness much easier than they could. However, Lucy’s next words had sent a cold shiver down her back, and she was almost afraid to hear the answer to her question.

“A lot,” Lucy replied heavily, cautiously moving closer now and wincing at the panic that flashed across Mira’s face at her reply and she knew her next words were only going to make it worse. “We nearly lost him several times since then, the illness keeps attacking his lungs because that’s where a lot of his magic is concentrated and his favour.” She couldn’t quite keep the tremble out of her voice, remembering the terror of the previous night, and Mercury began to whimper as he picked up on the change in her emotions and she quickly turned her attention to soothing him.

“Natsu…” Mira whispered as she closed the last of the distance between them, reaching out to grasp his hand and almost jolting back when she felt the heat radiating off him. She could hear Mercury whimpering and Lucy whispering to him, and she knew that she should go to him, but she trusted Lucy with her children and now that she at Natsu’s side she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to move away again. Up close he looked even worse than her first impression had suggested and she found herself clutching his hand even tighter. _Natsu don’t you dare leave me, us alone. You can’t let this beat you!_

“He’s stable for now, but he still can’t be left alone,” Lucy continued once Mercury had settled once more, noting just how tightly her friend was clinging to Natsu and wishing desperately that she had at least one bit of good news to share, but realising that Mira wouldn’t appreciate a lie. “And Porlysuica warned us that we’re still in the critical period, although he is doing better than he was.”

“Critical?” Mira couldn’t keep the terror and panic out of her voice this time, her eye stinging as she reached out to hesitantly brush the fingers of her free hand across a flushed cheek, watching hopefully for some sign that he knew she was there. His face remained lax, only a faint frown indicating the discomfort he must be feeling, and her shoulders slumped slightly. _I’m here Natsu, I’m right here beside you so come back to me._

“He’s strong,” Lucy settled for saying, realising that the older woman was likely to have a meltdown if she said anything else, besides she firmly believed what she was saying. Natsu was the strongest person she knew, and if he could overcome everything in his childhood, there was no way something like this illness could take him from them. She just needed Mira to realise that as well, and she added strongly. “There’s no way he will let something like this beat him.”

“I know,” Mira whispered, and there was a ghost of a smile on her lips as she shot a grateful look at Lucy, before turning her attention back to Natsu with a frown. Seeing him lying here like this brought back unpleasant memories, and she wanted to scream and shout at whatever god had decided that he needed to go through this. Squeezing his fingers, she took a shuddering breath before gently releasing his hand, immediately missing his warmth as she turned and headed over to Lucy and the twins, each step making her heart ache but she needed to see her babies as well.

   Mercury reached for her as soon as he spotted her approaching, babbling excitedly at her and with a watery laugh she reached out and swept him up into her arms. Peppering kisses across his face she carefully studied him, noting that his eyes weren’t as bright as usual and he was still pale, and she frowned at the lingering evidence of his illness before pressing him against her. Carefully shifting so that she could perch on the edge of their bed, she willingly took Sakura when Lucy passed her across, pressing a warm kiss to soft pink hair. Sitting there holding them both tightly against herself she felt something unwinding in her chest, and she couldn’t quite suppress the small sob that slipped out.

“Mira?”

“I know it’s a common illness,” Mira whispered softly glancing up into Lucy’s worried eyes, sniffling slightly before she was able to continue. “But I was scared…” She had spent every moment of the journey home with her mind conjuring up every worst possible scenario, not helped by the fact that her communication lacrima had broken and she hadn’t been able to get hold of the guild for updates. Of course none of those scenarios included the possibility of Natsu being ill, she added to herself as her gaze shifted back to the Dragon-slayer and the burning in her eyes increased, and she pressed her face against Mercury’s head to stop herself from bursting into sobs and a moment later she felt Lucy settle on the bed beside her, wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders as she whispered softly.

“We were scared as well, but they’re fine Mira, and Natsu will be too.” Mira nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak at that moment and she prayed desperately that Lucy was right because she wasn’t sure what she would do if he didn't recover.

**

That evening:

   Mira had somewhat reluctantly sent the Twins home with her siblings, not wanting to let them out of her sight just yet but knowing that she really needed to focus on Natsu now, especially when Lisanna had told her that he’ d asked for her the night before. Refusing offers from the rest of the team to stay with them, she eventually chased everyone out of the infirmary including Porlysuica once she’d finished the latest check-up, disappointed when the Healer said that his condition hadn’t improved. Although at least it had worsened. When they were finally alone again, she settled into the seat beside her husband’s bed, trying desperately to ignore the memories it was dragging up as she reached out to grasp his hand, pressing a small kiss to the back it before cradling it protectively in her lap as she watched over him silently.

“Natsu,” Mira murmured softly as he began to move restlessly a short while later, the flush still staining his cheeks a stark contrast against his pale skin and she reached out to place a comforting hand against his forehead as he muttered something that she couldn’t quite make out. “You idiot, why didn’t you take better care of yourself?” She scolded as she felt him instinctively leaning into her touch, a soft noise of relief escaping him and the flame of her anger disappeared as she gently stroked her fingers across his skin in hopes of spreading the coolness. _I’m here Natsu, and I’ll wait for you. I’ll always wait for you…_


	5. 3: Part 3

   Mira sighed softly as she ran her fingers gently through Natsu’s hair, dulled blue eyes narrowed as she studied him intently searching for any sign of change in his expression. Some sign that he knew that she was there and that he was coming back to her. But as always his face remained lax, the only thing she could draw comfort from was that the lines of pain had finally disappeared and he while he was still far paler than usual, the flush now present in his cheeks was a sign of slowly returning health rather than debilitating fever.

“How much longer are you going to keep us waiting, Natsu?” She asked quietly, her voice wobbling slightly as she leant forward to press a kiss to his cheek and her expression fell as she recalled all the times that simple gesture had brought a shy blush to his cheeks. Yet now there was no reaction, and she couldn’t keep the dejected expression off her face as she slumped back in her chair, although her hand remained buried in his messy hair, needing the physical connection to reassure that he was still there.

   It had been nearly two weeks since she’d returned to find that he’d fallen victim to the same illness that Sakura and Mercury had gone down with, and in that time he had only managed to regain consciousness for fleeting moments. And she didn’t know if he had even recognised that she was there with him in those times, and that uncertainty haunted her. He had been on his own when he needed her the most, and a small voice in the back of her mind wondered if that was why he hadn’t woken properly yet. _Does he not want to wake up in case I’m still not here?_ The others had done their best to reassure her that wasn’t the case when she’d nervously voiced the thought aloud a few days ago, but she couldn’t quite shake off that doubt.

   Porlyusica and Wendy had finally declared that he was out of danger only two days before, as even with the stronger doses of medicine that they had been forced to use, it had taken much longer for it to react than it had with any of the children. However, that announcement had also come with a warning that it might take him a few more days for him to properly regain consciousness as his body and magic had been under a lot of strain. But, that knowledge didn’t make the waiting any more bearable and Mira knew that she had been short-tempered and snappish over the past couple of days even though she knew that his teammates were just as worried about what was happening.

“We’re all waiting on you,” she whispered softly, repeating the same thing she had been telling him for the past couple of weeks, hoping that somehow this time it would reach him. “Mercury and Sakura miss their daddy,” her hand slipped from his hair to gently grasp one his hands, and she felt her eyes filling slightly at the reassuring warmth coming from him even as her thoughts turned to the twins. They had been staying with Lisanna and Elfman so that she could focus on Natsu, but they spent several hours every day here with her and Natsu, and while they were too young to say it, she knew that they missed Natsu. It was there in the way they strained to reach his bed whenever they saw him, in the floods of tears that came whenever it was time for them to go home and she hated the fact that there was nothing she could do to comfort them.

_Natsu we need you…_

****

The next morning:

   Natsu moaned softly as he finally felt himself beginning to drift towards awareness, the darkness that had been his world for far too long finally giving away and leaving him feeling as though his head had been stuffed with wool. Everything felt fuzzy, and he was finding it difficult to focus on anything beyond drifting towards consciousness, and he frowned slightly, or at least he thought he was frowning…

_What is going on? What happened?_

“Natsu?” The sudden voice beside him startled him badly, and he jolted violently, only to hiss as the abrupt movement sent pain flaring through his entire body. Instinctively he tried to curl up to escape the pain, but the added motion just made the pain that much worse and he quickly abandoned the attempt, vaguely aware of his chest heaving as he tried to ride out the agony. “Easy Natsu,” his companion was speaking again, albeit, in a softer tone and his brow furrowed, he knew that voice, and he knew that there was no way it was meant to be filled with so much worry and concern that it was practically a tangible force.

   As the lightning flashes of pain finally faded away to a background hum, he began the oddly difficult task of trying to convince his eyes to inch open, his frown deepening as it felt as though they had been glued shut at some point and idly he wondered if Gray had managed to prank him at some point. The effort required for such a simple task was exhausting, and a small part of him was tempted to give up and just sink back into the darkness. However, his typical stubbornness kicked in before that thought could take hold, and he persevered, finally managing to convince them to creep open to half-mast although he had had to blink heavily to achieve it and it was a struggle to keep them open even that much.

   However, he had been unprepared for the brightness of the room he was in, and a pained cry slipped free before he could stop it as he hastily slammed his eyes shut once more even as he felt tears forming in the corners and he found himself biting his lip as he tried to stop them from falling.

“Damn, sorry Natsu wait a moment,” his companion said seconds later, and he felt gentle fingers brush against his cheek for a moment before whoever it was disappeared. He vaguely tracked their movement away from him, recognising the sound of curtains being drawn in various places and even with his eyes still shut he could tell that the room was growing dimmer. Still, he waited until they had returned to his side before daring to warily inch his eyes open once more, sighing softly with relief as he found the room to be blissfully darker than it had been.

   For a long moment, all he could see was shadowy blurs that were spinning around him, and he had to fight back a surge of nausea as he blinked hard in an attempt to clear his vision. It took a few tries but finally, he found his vision beginning to clear, and once it did, he found himself gazing up into a pair of tearful blue eyes. A small smile curved his lips as he realised who it was, berating himself for being even slightly surprised that she would be there.

“Mira…” He whispered hoarsely, and her eyes widened for a moment, and then suddenly he was hit by a fresh surge of pain as suddenly her arms were wrapped tightly around him, her head pressed hard against his chest and he bit his lip to stop himself crying out. The pain was quickly forgotten though when he realised that she was sobbing heavily against him, and he frowned with a mixture of concern and confusion. “Mira? What….?”

“You Idiot!” She scolded in a watery voice as she forced herself to release him as his questions registered, leaning back and staring at him as she noted the confusion in his eyes as he gazed up at her with a startled expression. “You really scared me…I thought that I was going to lose you!” Natsu blinked at the fear that he could see written across her expression, and his confusion only deepened. What could have happened to put that expression on her face? The last thing he could remember was, he blinked as it took a moment to sort through surprisingly hazy memories before one solidified. _The TWINS!_ His eyes widened at that memory, and even though he was vaguely aware that they had been on the mend, he couldn’t keep the worry of his face.

“The twins?!” He tried to sit up as an urgent need to check on Sakura and Mercury engulfed him, but his muscles felt like jelly, and he had barely managed to lift himself up by a couple of inches before Mira hastily reached out to press a hand to his chest. The fact that she barely had to exert any effort to keep him down telling him just how weak he was at the moment, and he glanced helplessly up at her before he broke out into a coughing fit, the shout having aggravated his dry throat.

   At once her hand disappeared from his chest, and a moment later he felt a glass being held against his lips as she snaked an arm around his shoulders to lift him slightly so he could drink. Greedily he sipped at it, forcing himself to obey when she cautioned him to slow down, definitely not wanting to make himself sick. He’d only managed half the glass when he turned his head aside to indicate that he was done, feeling the water settling uneasily in his stomach and he grimaced slightly at the sensation as Mira gently settled him back on the pillows before he focused his gaze on her and repeated his earlier question in a marginally calmer voice..

“The twins?”

“They’re both fine,” She reassured him quickly, offering him a warm smile for the first time since he had woken and although he still wanted to see them with his own eyes he felt himself relaxing, knowing that there was no way she would have been able to smile like that if they hadn’t really been okay. He glanced around the room, realising for the first time that he was still in the guild infirmary and his eyes narrowed when he realised that there was no sign of the twins and he quickly turned back to his wife with a questioning expression. “They’re with Lisanna at the moment, she and Elfman have been looking after them so that I could focus on you,” Mira explained as she interpreted his expression correctly.

“Me?” Natsu asked still confused as to what could have happened, he knew that he had been exhausted from looking after Sakura and Mercury, but that didn’t explain why he was in the infirmary, and it was clear that he had been there for a while given how his muscles had turned to jelly.

“You came down with the same thing the twins had,” Mira explained gently, squeezing his hand as his eyes widened briefly at her words before narrowing once more as he recalled what Porlyusica had said about the illness and how it worsened with the age of the patient, and there was no surprise in his expression when she added quietly. “Only it was a lot worse because you’re an adult, and you’re magic is that much stronger and more developed than theirs is.”

“How bad?” Natsu forced himself to ask, knowing that things must have become fairly dire to have put that level of fear and concern on his wife’s face. Mira tensed at the question, and even though the events were over and done with, it didn’t lessen the pain and anguish of the last few days, and her voice shook wildly as she replied.

“You nearly died,” she paused for a second clinging ever tighter to his hand before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to add. “So many times…You came so close to slipping away from me. Natsu.” She shuddered at the memory of how close she had come to losing him, and she hadn’t even been here the first couple of times. Then there had been two more near misses had occurred after she made it home, the first later on the day after she’d come home to find him ill, when his temperature had shot to heights that would’ve killed a lesser man, and it had been closer than any of them wanted to admit.

*

_Mira was dozing lightly in her seat, the exhaustion from her mad dash back home and the subsequent shock of finding that Natsu was ill catching up with her, but even in sleep, she was clinging tightly to his hand. It was that, which had alerted her the moment he’d begun to stir restlessly on the bed, the faint tugging on their gentle hands immediately jerking her fully awake._

_“Natsu?” For a moment she hoped that it was a sign that he was waking up, but the moment her eyes had landed on his face, she’d known that it wasn’t the case. The faint flush of fever that had been present earlier, had now deepened and spread and there was sweat beading across his forehead, and she swallowed hard at the sight. Natsu shifted again as she watched, his face twisting with a mix of pain and distress and her gut clenched when he let out a low whimper and immediately she was stood over him, reaching out to lay a trembling hand on his forehead. She hissed at the heat coming off his skin, and snatching her hand back she immediately reached out to activate the lacrima alarm, surprised that it hadn’t gone off already._

_“Easy Natsu,” she whispered softly as she reached up to brush her fingers through his hair, a gesture that she knew calmed him, and for a moment his expression seemed to even out. However, just as the door to the infirmary burst open behind her, he had jerked his head away from her touch, fretfully twisting his head from side to side with an angry sounding mumble._

_“What is it?” Porlyusica demanded appearing at her side, but the moment she set eyes on the Dragon-slayer she knew what the problem was and she had already continued before Mira could find her voice. “His fever?” Mira gave a jerky nod not trusting herself to speak as she watched Natsu twist uneasily on the bed, sweaty fingers weakly tightening around her hand, and she felt fear stirring in her chest as she took in the healer’s grim expression._

_Without a word the healer quickly lay a hand on Natsu’s forehead, her expression darkening at the heat coming from him and she promptly summoned up a brief flare of magic, eyes narrowing at the readings it provided for her, and she gritted her teeth._

_“Go and fetch a bowl of water,” She ordered turning to glance at Mira who hesitated for a moment, she might not need to leave the room, but she was reluctant to take even a few steps away from her husband at the moment. “We need to get this fever down before it gets beyond our control, please…”Porlyusica added as she caught the fear in Mira’s expression and with a tight nod the Take-over mage obeyed after a last frantic glance at Natsu._

_The next hour had passed quickly as they struggled to bring his fever down, constantly resoaking the damp cloths they were spreading across his forehead and torso and regularly having to replace them when his restless movements displaced them. The worst of it, for Mira at least was that as his temperature continued to rise Natsu had begun to hallucinate, and it was a struggle for her to hold herself together as she was forced to listen to him fighting imagined foes, calling frantically for her and the twins…and more than once pleading with his parents to forgive him. It was the latter that truly broke her heart, knowing just how hard he had worked to put all that behind him and cursing the fever for dragging it back to the forefront._

_At some point Wendy had joined them, adding faint tendrils of her magic to their efforts, but not daring to go all out as it would fuel the illness further. And yet despite their combined efforts, the fever continued to rise, steadily climbing past the point that could be considered safe and Mira knew that if it hadn’t been Natsu, it would already have been too late._

_“Go and get Gray,” Porlyusica barked after checking his temperature yet again, glancing at Wendy who froze for a brief moment, horror dawning on her expression as she realised the reason for the request and then she was gone, dashing out the door before anything else could be said and leaving Mira to turn to Porlyusica for answers._

_“Gray?”_

_“We need to get this fever down now or…”Porlyusica replied grimly, but then she trailed off, glancing worriedly at Mira who had paled at her words. She usually didn’t believe in sugarcoating situations like this, but she had watched the take-over mage bring Natsu through his recovery during the de-ageing situation years and knew how much this current situation had stirred up bad memories and she found herself hesitating._

_“Or?” Mira forced out past gritted teeth as she caught the hesitation, already knowing that she wasn’t going to like the answer but realising at the same time that she needed to know. Still, it didn’t stop her tears from breaking free when the older woman replied, and the cracks in her world that had appeared when she’d first learnt Natsu was ill spread out even further._

_“We’ll lose him.”_

*

   It hadn’t taken long for Wendy to return with a sleepy-looking Gray in tow, although to Mira it had felt like hours, but thankfully Gray had taken one look at the Dragon-slayer before cottoning onto what was happening. All traces of sleep disappearing as he moved to Natsu’s side, hesitating for only the briefest moment before reaching out to press both hands against the Dragon-slayer’s abdomen, hissing in pain from the burning heat coming from the other but otherwise voicing no other complaint as he summoned up his magic. The rest of them watching as a thin film of ice spread out from his hands, and they winced as Natsu cried out at the sudden chill. And Mira was forced to reach out and hold him as still as possible as he began to thrash refusing to let the others do even that much even as tears streaked down her cheeks as he continued to writhe and cry out in pain.

*

  In the end, it had taken them the entire night just to get his fever back down to just within safe levels, and by the end of it, Gray had barely been able to stand, having had to continually renew the layer of ice as Natsu’s heat eroded it almost instantly. Wendy had been forced to help the Ice mage walk as he left, although it had taken Porlyusica threatening him to make him leave as he’d wanted to remain in case he was needed once more even if he probably didn’t have the power to do anything else. There had been several occasions in the following hours when Natsu’s temperature had threatened to spike back to its previous levels, although thankfully they had managed to prevent that as they all knew it was unlikely that he could survive that happening again so soon even if Gray was able to help. And it had taken two more days for Natsu’s temperature to reach even relatively normal levels.

   The second time had been several days after that, just when Porlyusica had been prepared to announce that he was out of the critical period even though he still hadn’t regained consciousness. It seemed as though the illness had wanted to have one last stab at stealing him away from them, targeting his lungs once more and much more viciously that it had the first time around. Both Porlyusica and Wendy had been forced to give their all to save him, and there had been a moment when he’d stopped breathing altogether. At that moment Mira’s world seemed to have skidded to a halt, and she shuddered at the memory.

_She had been forced to relinquish her hold on his hand so that both Healers could work on him, moving to hover at the end of his bed, both hands clasped together as she willed their magic to work. Tears leaking down her cheeks as she listened to his strained breathing, and she had been the first to realise when the sound had disappeared._

_“Natsu!” She had screamed before her mind had even fully finished processed what was happening, taking a shaky step forwards even as Porlyusica and Wendy realised what was happening, the latter immediately reaching forward to begin CPR. “He’s not breathing! He’s… He’s…” Mira was whispering incoherently, watching through her tears as Wendy fought to save her world, desperately trying to summon the strength to move forward to help her but she was frozen in place._

  _It had taken long moments before Wendy had finally sat back with a relieved expression, and it had taken Mira a minute to pick up the sound of strained breathing coming from Natsu and the moment that it had registered she had collapsed to her knees, sobbing with relief._

*

“I…” Natsu trailed off unsure of what to say, unable to comprehend that an illness that the children had managed to fight off with only a little difficulty could have been capable of nearly killing him and yet he didn’t for a moment doubt her words. He could see the truth of it in her shadowed eyes, and feel it in the lingering weakness in his body and he fell silent as he studied her. Gently squeezing her hand in return when he saw the memories playing across her face, and he winced at the thought that he was the one that had put those shadows there even if he didn’t remember what had happened.

“And you’ve been unconscious for nearly two weeks,” she whispered knowing that it was better to get all the shocks out of the way, and wanting nothing more than to put all of this behind her. She hadn’t come this close to losing him since the incident with Master Ivan, and it had shaken her a lot more than she had let onto the others, although she was reasonably sure his teammates hadn’t been fooled by the calm mask she had adopted for the most part.

“Two weeks?” Natsu gaped at her wide-eyed, unable to believe that he had lost two weeks to this illness, but even before she gave a tiny nod, he knew that she was telling the truth and he groaned softly. At least that explained the weakness and jelly-like state of his muscles, but two weeks? His eyes narrowed, and gently he tugged on their joined hands, pulling until she lightly fell partway onto him and before she could move her wrapped his arms around her ignoring her protests. “I’m sorry I left you alone for so long,” he whispered in her ear, and she went still, before pressing her face against his shoulder as she began to weep again.

“It’s okay, you came back, and that’s all that matters,” she finally managed to whisper several minutes later, although she made no move to pull back and Natsu merely tightened his hold on her, happy to give her the chance to cry herself out.

**

That afternoon:

   As soon as they had both recovered somewhat, Mira had insisted on calling for Porlyusica to check him over, still to on edge to just accept his word that he was feeling better especially when she could see the guilt in his eyes whenever they landed on her. Natsu had protested but submitted relatively quickly as he saw the worry in her expression. Although he had been made even more worried by the relief with which the notoriously grumpy healer had greeted him, and at one point he could have sworn that he’d caught a suspicious moistness to her eyes not that he dared ask. Especially not when he was relying on her to say that he was well enough for visitors, Mira might have told him that the twins were doing fine, but he needed to seem them with his own eyes.

   Finally though she had stopped her examination, and whilst he had been warned that he wasn’t allowed to use magic for at least a week and that it would probably take a few weeks for him to get back to full strength, he was cleared for visitors as long as he stayed in bed and didn’t overexert himself. _Not a problem_ , he’d thought to himself casting a glance at his wife, noting the look of fierce determination in her expressive eyes as she nodded at everything Porlyusica was saying, and he bit back a sigh. Clearly, he was going to be on a tight rein for a while, and while at the moment he knew that he didn’t have the strength to disobey even if he had the inclination, it meant that his usual habit of bouncing back sooner than he should might have to go out the window.

   Still, he couldn’t keep the bright smile of his face as the Healer left, promising to let everyone else know how he was doing and to pass on a message to his teammates and family that he could have visitors.

“It’s good to see you on the mend,” she had murmured softly just before the door closed quietly behind her, leaving Natsu gaping after her in surprise, beginning to wonder just how much he had managed to miss while he was unconscious.

**

   Natsu grumbled slightly as Mira fussed around him, fluffing the pillows behind him unnecessarily before fiddling with his covers yet again and while he was tempted to say something he held his peace as he caught the worry still lingering in her eyes. With a soft sigh, he reached out and grasped both her hands as she went to rearrange the blanket yet again, shaking his head softly when she froze and turning to look at him with a sheepish expression.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and he shook his head before lifting her hands and pressing a small kiss to each one before squeezing her fingers gently, and she giggled slightly at the silly gesture, but relaxed slightly, sinking onto the bed beside him as she pulled one of her hands free. “I thought it would go when you were awake again…” She explained quietly reaching up to gently cup his cheek with her free hand, smiling as he instinctively reached into the touch, and taking strength from the heat burning beneath her fingers.

“It…?” Natsu prompted cautiously pulling back slightly when he realised that she was trying to distract him, and with a defeated sigh Mira pulled back. “The fear,” she whispered glancing down at their joined hands for a moment, before raising her gaze to meet his and he swallowed as he took in the shadows in her eyes. She hadn’t looked like that for years, and he hated the fact that he had been the one to put that look in her eyes again. “It’s the same as back then when I thought I was going to lose you. I never wanted to feel that way again.”

“I’m sorry,” Natsu muttered softly as he caught the shudder that went through her. He had known from the moment that he woke up that she was more affected by what had happened than she was letting on, but he hadn’t thought it went this deep and he had no idea how to make it better.

“It’s not your fault,” Mira said at once, shaking her head slightly at the apology but then her eyes darkened. “I…” _I should have been here from the start. You were on your own with the twins, and then when you fell ill and were asking for me, I still wasn’t here…_

“No!” Natsu blurted out as he caught the guilt that had slipped into her expression, realising that she was trying to take blame onto herself and refusing to let have a chance to take hold. She blinked, startled by the forcefulness of his tone and she gaped at him with wide eyes for a moment before she managed to find her voice.

“Natsu?”

“Don’t you dare and try and blame yourself for this,” he growled, and there was a spark of anger in his eyes, which disappeared rapidly as his expression softened once more, although his hold on her hand tightened slightly as he continued in an unusually stern tone. “You weren’t to know the kids were going to be ill, or that it’d be something I could get.” _I didn’t think I’d had it, but I didn’t think I was at risk…_.Either way, the decision to stay with the Twins despite the risk had lain with him, and he knew that even if he’d had a way of knowing what was going to happen he wouldn’t have changed his decisions.

“Hey,” Lucy stuck her head in the door, coming up short as she caught the tense atmosphere and the serious expressions on both of their faces and she looked slightly nervous as she asked. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Mira shook her head, shooting Natsu a reassuring smile when he opened his mouth to argue, and after staring at her for a moment, he sighed and shook his head, squeezing her hand softly before releasing her and letting her shake out the ache from where he’d been clinging to her. Lucy didn’t look overly convinced by their performance, but when they both turned eager eyes towards her, she sighed and offered them a warm smile with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

“Ready for visitors?”

“Yes,” Natsu nearly shouted, practically bouncing on the bed and if it hadn’t been for the restraining hand that Mira placed on his shoulder, he would probably leapt from the bed despite the lingering weakness. He was so busy pouting at her that he missed Lucy ducking back out of the infirmary, and he was finally drawn out of his sulk by a familiar gurgling laugh, and his head shot up so fast that Mira was surprised that he hadn’t given himself whiplash. For a moment he just stared into the bright eyes of his son who was already straining against Lucy’s hold, little arms waving in the air as he reached for Natsu and the Dragon-slayer bit his lip to stop himself from letting out a relieved sob.

“I think he’s missed you,” Lucy said softly, seeing the emotions swimming in his eyes and taking pity on him she quickly closed the distance between them, swiftly passing Mercury to him and watching with tender eyes as he wrapped his arms around his son before burying his face in Mercury’s hair. Behind her she heard Lisanna sniffling slightly even as she passed Sakura across to Mira, before both she and Lucy retreated once more, deciding to give the small family some time before the rest of them descended on Natsu.

    Pressing a gentle kiss to her daughter’s head, Mira carefully settled on the bed beside Natsu, and after a moment he glanced up, and she smiled as she caught the tears that he hastily blinked away before his gaze shifted to Sakura and his expression brightened even more. Still clinging tightly to Mercury he leant down to press a kiss to soft pink hair, chuckling softly when Sakura reached up to clutch at his cheeks while babbling excitedly away at him, recognition clear in her eyes. Mira had to bite back a laugh at how seriously Natsu listened to the babble for a long moment before he was finally released from his daughter’s clutches, and he shot of her a happy grin as he carefully straightened.

“They missed you,” she said softly meeting his gaze, and his smile dimmed slightly for a moment as he saw the pain still lingering in her gaze and she bit her lip feeling sorry for damaging the mood, especially as Mercury and Sakura were now happily babbling to one another in a language only they understood.

   Carefully shifting Mercury into a one-armed hold, Natsu reached up to snake his newly freed arm around Mira and Sakura drawing them both against his side. With his smile slowly regaining strength he gently settled them all back against the pillows, tightening his hold around them all before he pressed a gentle kiss to Mira’s lips before he pulled back and glanced down at the three of them with warm eyes.

“I’m back.”

****

Omake:

“Pfft, only you would manage to catch a children’s illness and nearly die from it,” Gray taunted as he glowered at the Dragon-slayer, but there was such relief in his eyes and tone that it lacked any real impact and Natsu grinned slightly causing the Ice mage to roll his eyes.

“I do like being different,” Natsu retorted dryly, only to yelp a moment later as Mira lightly punched his arm while scowling fiercely at him. “OW! What was that for?!” He demanded, pouting up at her, and she merely arched her eyebrow in response at him, before responding coolly.

“I’d rather you found a less threatening way of being different.” There was a clear warning in both her voice and eyes and Natsu flinched before putting on his most innocent expression although he knew from experience that it never worked with her.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised with a smile, stubbornly ignoring Gray’s muttered comment about him being thoroughly whipped.


	6. 4

   Natsu bounced around excitedly as he put the finishing touches to the pile of presents under the Christmas tree, humming carols softly under his breath as he stepped back to admire his work, olive eyes sparkling as he examined the tree. Before Mira had moved in he had only ever had a tiny tree that sat on the dining table, but she had insisted on getting a big one for their first Christmas together, and it had become a tradition since then. Although he had to admit that they had outdone themselves this year, as the star that Lucy had made for them was scraping the ceiling. Strings of lacrima lights cast a cheerful golden glow over the room, and it was covered in a vast array of baubles and other decorations, many of them gifts from their friends or collected on trips and nothing matched, but he didn’t mind, enjoying the wild medley of colours.

“It’s beautiful,” Mira whispered as she came up alongside him, wrapping an arm around his waist and reaching up to press a gentle kiss against his cheek, a warm smile as she studied the tree before her gaze shifted to the piles of present underneath it and she laughed. “Are you sure that you didn’t buy the entire toy shop?” She asked teasingly, and he blushed slightly as he ducked his head in embarrassment, relieved that she hadn’t actually been there when he was shopping as he was fully aware of the fact that he had looked like an overexcited child.

“They’re not all from us!” He protested, which was true as the entire guild had gone overboard with all the children again this Christmas, especially as the twins and Freya were now old enough to actually enjoy the celebration even if they still didn’t fully understand it. “I…” _I want to give them what I never had when I was their age_ , his expression darkened briefly, and he hastily turned his gaze back to the tree, not wanting to let the past ruin the festive mood. It bugged that it was always harder to keep those memories at bay at this time of year, at a time when he wanted to lose himself in the warmth and brightness of the season.

“I know,” she reassured him softly with a fond smile although there was a hint of sadness in her eyes as she studied him. They all knew the reason that he went so overboard when it came to birthdays and Christmas, and even just in everyday life and not one of them could blame him. “I’m fairly sure Lisanna and Elfman have bought them nearly as much as we have,” she added with a grin, both her siblings doted on the twins and had nearly come to blows several times when trying to decide who was going to babysit them. Relieved that she wasn’t going to push the issue of what had happened in the past he perked up, grinning slightly as he glanced towards the pile of presents came from their in-laws and he had to admit that she was right.

“Then there’s whatever is under the guild tree,” he added with a laugh. While many of them were doing their own thing for the morning, especially those of them with kids, Makarov had insisted on throwing a proper party in the guild to celebrate not only Christmas but the fact that they had managed to have a relatively quiet year. Part of that included a guild-wide Secret Santa organised by Mira and Kinana, and Natsu was fairly sure he had seen the old man sneaking other presents under the giant tree that dominated the hall. Even though there were already presents from him under their own tree and he had a feeling that some of the others might have added more since then.

“They’re going to need a bigger room at this rate,” Mira joked relieved to see that his expression had lightened once more, happily leaning her head against his shoulder and smiling as he wrapped a warm arm around her waist. Natsu snorted at her words, they had already had to change Happy’s old room into a playroom. The Exceed giving his permission and happily helping them to redecorate, he had long since moved in with Carla and Wendy although he still spent a few nights a month crashed on their couch much to the Twins delight. “Or you’re going to have to stop hoarding things!” She added with a smirk, knowing full well that the attic was currently overflowing with boxes of odds and ends that Natsu had accumulated over the year as well as all the toys and clothes that Sakura and Mercury had already grown out of.

“But…” Natsu pouted in protest at the thought, he knew that it was silly, but he was scared to throw out the slightest memory although he had to admit that they were going to have to do something if the kids kept getting this much stuff on special occasions.

“Come on you big baby,” Mira teased as she caught the pout, knowing better than to push on the issue. She had tried to clear out the attic one day to give them more room, and Natsu had gone into a panic when he got home, and since then she had carefully avoided touching anything up there. “Let’s get to bed as I’m sure we’ll be up early in the morning,” she added with a sigh, both of their children were ridiculously early risers, and they always let them know that they were up and wanting attention. Although looking at the excited expression on her husband’s face, she guessed that it would be a much larger child that would be waking her the next morning.

“Alright!” Natsu grinned before tugging her enthusiastically towards the stairs, only just remembering to turn the lights off in his hurry to get to bed, and Mira rolled her eyes at his childishness, but otherwise didn’t protest as she was dragged up the stairs to bed.

****

   Mira was therefore unsurprised when Natsu roused her ridiculously early the next morning, although she was relieved to hear noises from the nursery that indicated that the twins were also waking up and she sighed softly as she imagined how chaotic it was going to be when they were old enough to really get into the spirit of Christmas. Lisanna and Elfman had been unholy terrors when they were little, and with Natsu’s influence flung into the mix, she knew that her two were going to be worse. Still, she couldn’t help but smile when the Dragon-slayer turned pleading eyes toward her, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she glanced at the clock, _five o’clock I guess I should be grateful that it isn’t earlier._

“Mira…”

“All right,” She agreed softly with a laugh at the hint of a whine that had entered his voice, earning a brilliant grin that lit up the room before he reached forward to press a warm kiss to her lips. Rolling her eyes slightly she pushed him away gently and slid out from the covers. “Go and get the twins sorted.” If he was going to get up this early then he could deal with the early morning grumpiness from their children, of course, the idiot didn’t look in the slightest bit perturbed by that thought, and before she could blink, he had dashed out of the door. “Honestly, you’re just a giant kid yourself,” she muttered as she tidied the bed before heading out of the door, easily able to hear Natsu chattering away to Mercury and Sakura in the nursery and she shook her head before heading downstairs as she knew he would be a few minutes.

   Downstairs she turned on the tree lights, admiring the tree once more, chuckling as she activated the runes that Freed had been forced to come and place around it after it had nearly gone up in flames when the twins had got carried away in their excitement. They should probably start paying Freed for the amount of protective runes he’d had to put up in the house and around the guild. Although he had always waved it off whenever she had mentioned that to him, they had collaborated with Laxus to get the Rune mage a new sword for Christmas instead, but it still didn’t feel like it was enough. However, now wasn’t the time to be worrying about such things and humming softly she moved through to the kitchen in search of coffee, knowing that she would need it if she wanted to keep up with her hyperactive husband and children.

   It was nearly ten minutes later that she heard Natsu charging down the stairs, twin squeals telling her that Mercury and Sakura were well and truly awake. Despite the seemingly reckless way he came down she knew that there was no need to worry as he was endlessly careful with them, and cradling her mug against her chest she headed back into the living room just as he burst in with a brilliant grin. There was a small flicker of flame in the back of his mouth indicating just how excited he was, and she rolled her eyes, guessing that the runes would be protecting against him as well today.

“Mama!” Sakura squealed as she spotted Mira and the Take-over mage quickly settled her drink on the coffee table before moving across to scoop the toddler into her arms, pressing a gentle kiss against messily braided hair.

“Morning sweetie,” she greeted warmly, before stepping close enough to kiss Mercury as well, pulling a face when he pressed a slobbery kiss against her chin before turning around to do the same to Natsu. The Dragon-slayer didn’t look fazed in the slightest, instead ducking his head to nuzzle his nose against the toddler’s, earning a delighted giggle from his son. “Honestly you two are as bad as one another,” Mira teased fondly, loving the glow that surrounded Natsu whenever he played with the twins, knowing that he would quite happily do without all the trappings of Christmas as long as he had time to spend with them.

“Are you really complaining?” Natsu asked with a warm grin as he glanced up at her, used to her teasing comments now. Back in the early days of their relationship he had been so uncertain that there had been several incidents where he had misunderstood her teasing.

“Of course not,” Mira replied with a warm smile, reaching up to kiss him softly although they were forced to break apart as Sakura protested being squished between them and they both laugh at the reaction, with Natsu reaching up to pat his daughter softly on the head. “Come on let's open some presents!” She added brightly, earning an excited cheer from the Dragon-slayer which both twins happily mimicked with giggles and she rolled her eyes at all of them.

   Carefully she moved across and claimed a spot on the floor, settling Sakura down beside her as she wiggled to get free and she only just managed to stop her lunging for the nearest present. Both of the twins had been fascinated by the brightly coloured paper, and more than once they had caught one or the other of them in the process of trying to unwrap things. It had got to the point where Natsu had taken to wrapping up empty boxes to give them something to play with, something that Mira had been less than impressed with when she’d had to pick up trails of paper strewn around the house.

“Mama!”

“Wait, sweetheart,” Mira said with a hint of sternness, struggling not to melt at the pout that her daughter gave her at her words, easily able to pick out Natsu’s features in her face when she used that expression and she felt herself losing the fight against her smile. Natsu settled down opposite her, placing Mercury down next to his sister and automatically hooking his fingers into his t-shirt seconds before the toddler tried to launch himself towards the pile of presents. “They’re definitely yours!”

“I seem to remember you were a hellion when you were younger as well,” Natsu retorted without heat, smirking as she pouted at him before sticking her nose in the air. Laughing he reached out to grab the nearest present, reading the label before tossing it to her and she growled playfully at him as she snatched it out of the air, smiling as she saw that it was from him. Little hands came to her help, and she sighed softly but allowed Sakura to help her rip off the paper, her eyes widening with delight as she found the dress that she had been eyeing up a few weeks ago but had ultimately decided to not buy.

“How?” She asked as she stroked the soft lilac material, glancing up at him with a confused expression as she was fairly sure that he’d been out of town on that day.

“Magic,” He grinned mischievously, not about to admit that Gray had told him that he’d seen Mira eying it up or that he’d gone through her clothes to make sure that she hadn’t bought it for herself. The Ice Princess had been smug when he’d seen Natsu with the bag, and after thanking him for the help, the Dragon-slayer had taken great delight in dragging him into a brawl.

“Thank you,” Mira murmured letting Sakura touch it briefly before moving it to safety, not trusting them not to get too excited and start setting fire to things. This time she was the one to select a present, passing it across to Mercury who accepted it with a happy giggle and they both watched as the wrapping was decimated in a matter of seconds only to reveal a stuffed tiger, which let out a deafening roar when Mercury squeezed it nearly making him drop it.

“Lisanna…” Natsu groaned, she was still determined to influence the children into sharing her love of animals, and Mira laughed at his expression, knowing that her sister loved to wind him up as often as possible. Mercury seemed to have got over his surprise as he cuddled the toy tightly, and Natsu shook his head before clearing the paper aside knowing that if he didn’t, they would soon end up buried beneath it, before reaching for another present and letting out a whoop as it had his name on it.

   Eagerly he tore the paper off, only to let out a startled yelp as it suddenly went up in flames and he glanced down to find mischievous blue eyes peering up at him. Scowling playfully at his son he quickly gobbled down the flames before they could cause any damage, reaching out to lightly bop Mercury on the news in warning.

“No flames today please,” he scolded softly, steadfastly ignoring Mira’s quiet ‘like you’re one to talk’ before turning his attention to his present. Olive eyes widening with delight as he realised that it was a photo album, and he was practically bouncing in place as he flipped it open, a soft smile spreading across his face as he found himself staring down at some of their wedding photos. A few more pages of wedding photos and from their honeymoon, and Mira moving in and then it transitioned into a gallery of baby pictures and his eyes lit up with delight. They had plenty of photos around the house, but he was always worried about something happening to them, plus he didn’t have any to take on longer trips. “Thank you,” he murmured around a sudden lump in his throat, glancing up at his wife who was watching him with soft eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

   He spent nearly five minutes flicking through the pages before he forced himself to set it aside so that he didn’t hold them all up. Mira smiled as she noted how his hand lingered on the cover, before reaching out to search for a present with Sakura’s name on it, finally finding one and handing it to her daughter who attacked it with the same enthusiasm that Mercury had used. Olive eyes lighting up as she uncovered a large, fluorescent pink bouncy lacrima that she immediately sent flying towards the tree. Thankfully the rune barrier stopped it, and as it collided it lit up brightly from the inside earning an excited squeal from both of them.

“Elfman…” Mira sighed as she checked the label, already mentally making a list of the things that would be needed to protected if this was going to be let loose inside the house. Natsu didn’t seem bothered, snatching the ball up and rolling it gently back to Sakura who immediately threw it back towards the tree, causing Mira to groan in despair.

**

   It was nearly lunchtime by the time they finally opened the last present, and by that point, both Natsu and Mira’s energy was beginning to wane which was unfortunate as both Mercury and Sakura were still on a high. Not helped by the amount of candy they had received and managed to devour before Mira had managed to confiscate it and hide away in the kitchen. However, they seemed fairly content to play with their new toys and roll around in the piles of wrapping paper while Mira and Natsu sat back and relaxed. Although the Dragon-slayer frequently had to deal with small fires caused by the overexcited pair as Sakura kept flickering in and out of her transformation, egged on by her brother’s clapping and giggles.

“Dada!” Mercury babbled suddenly with a broad grin on his face, waving a piece of wrapping paper towards Natsu who froze at his son’s voice, olive eyes wide as he slowly turned to look at Mira and his voice trembled as he asked quietly.

“Did he just…?”

“Dada! Dada!” Mercury chanted tossing aside the paper and reaching out for the Fire mage, while Sakura finally lost interest in the cuddly that she had been playing with and took up the chant as well. Mira smiled at the awestruck expression on Natsu’s face as his head whipped between the two of them, catching the glint of moisture swimming in his eyes. She knew that it had been bothering him that they had been calling her ‘Mama’ for a couple of months, but had steadfastly refused to call him by name despite their attempts to encourage them, although he had been good at hiding how much he wanted to hear them say it.

“Looks like they were saving it for Christmas,” she said with a smile, pretending not to notice the small sniffle that escaped him as he reached out to scoop Mercury into his lap, the toddler squealing happily as Natsu’s arms went around him. Sakura let out a small noise of protest at being left out before crawling across to join the hug, wrapping her tiny arms around one of Natsu’s and placing butterfly kisses to his shoulder.

“Dada!” With a choked laugh Natsu pulled her into the hug, nuzzling against both of their heads as he felt Mira moving across to join them. Pulling back to peer up at her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, olive eyes bright as he returned her smile before reaching up to press a gentle kiss to her lips, before pulling back and giving her a watery smile before whispering softly.

“This has been the best Christmas yet…”


	7. 5: Part 1

   Natsu sighed wearily as he sank onto the bed, wincing as he accidentally jostled the gash across his abdomen, instinctively reaching up to rest a warm hand against the bandages covering it as he struggled to ease himself into a more comfortable position. It was supposed to have been a relatively simple S-class job to track down a dark mage that had been terrorising the smaller towns in Seven, a country neighbouring Fiore that lacked the same guild infrastructure as his own country. However, it turned out that the client had wholly underestimated how dangerous the man he was going after, and how skilled he was with the great-sword he used, probably even rivalling Erza. And it had only been a desperate twist to the side that had stopped him from dying outright, although it had left him with a deep gash that had nearly caused him to bleed out anyway, especially as he’d aggravated it by finishing the battle.

   Only sheer willpower had allowed him to make his way back to the town, although he’d practically been crawling by the time he’d reached it. Thankfully though a passer-by had taken pity on him and hauled his sorry ass to the closest healer. Although that was perhaps a strong term, as it was clear that the woman only had a basic knowledge of healing, as she was apparently the only healer in town he’d had to make do. Although he’d certainly missed Wendy as all the woman had been able to do was stop the bleeding, stitching the wound up roughly and binding it tightly, before sending him on his way with some medicine to help with the pain. Which meant that he had to be careful how he moved and that travel was going to be a pain, but worst of all Mira was going to kill him for getting injured on a job yet again. He sighed wondering if he should try and stop by another town and find another healer before he got home, although to be honest he’d rather face his wife’s wrath and wait to get Wendy to look at it.

   He was just contemplating going to sleep as he wanted to set off early at the moment, eager to get home even though the healer had said that he needed to rest when there was a soft chime from the bedside table. Immediately forgetting his weariness and pain he scrambled upright, paling slightly as pain lanced through him. Although he didn’t slow down as he grabbed the lacrima that was pulsing a soft yellow and hit the activation button, a bright grin appearing on his face as Mira’s face came into view and the stress of the job faded away as she smiled at him.

“I was hoping you’d still be awake,” she said softly.

“Hey, you just caught me I was about to head to bed,” he admitted as he shifted on the bed so that he was able to lean back against the pillows, struggling to stop himself from wincing from the movement, determined not to make her worry. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Mira smiled reassuringly up at him as she caught the note of concern in his voice. “The twins are fast asleep after spending the day with Freya and Asuka. I just wanted to hear your voice before bed, I miss you…” Natsu’s expression softened at her words, it had been a long job especially with the distance required to get here, and he’d already overran by several days because every time he got close the mage had managed to slip free.

“I miss you too,” he replied as he reached out to run his fingers over the lacrima, wishing that he could actually reach through and hold her. He’d never been a fan of going on jobs on his own, but it had become harder and harder now that he had Mira and the twins and not helped by the fact that Happy was spending more time Carla nowadays. “I’m sorry I’ve been away so long. Although I don’t think we’ll need to take a job for a while, I got quite a large bonus when I got paid today, and I didn’t cause any real damage so no fines either.” He knew that he sounded far too proud of the last bit, but it was something that he had been working on over the last few years, no longer able to brush aside the money he lost to damages now that he had a family to provide for.

“That’s good news,” Mira beamed up at him, reaching out towards her own lacrima so that for a moment it looked as though their hands might connect, before sighing softly as she glanced off to the side as she studied the bed that they both agreed felt far too big when the other was away. “It doesn’t feel quite like home when you’re not here. When are you leaving?”

“In the morning, so I should be back by the end of the week,” Natsu replied with a sigh, wondering what on earth had possessed him to take a job so far away from home. Admittedly it had been the only S-class job on the board when he’d gone looking that wasn’t a ten-year quest or above, and while he could just have done a series of smaller jobs that would have meant being away from home more often for a few weeks. But they would at least have been closer to home.

“So long…”

“Yeah,” he agreed softly.

“By the way, there hasn’t been any trouble where you are has there?” Mira asked after a moment of silence, and Natsu could hear the genuine concern in her voice and he frowned in confusion, wondering what she could be going on about as he’d been complaining to her a couple of nights ago about just how quiet the town was, aside from the mage that he’d been pursuing of course.

“Trouble?” He echoed. “What do you mean?”

“There have been reports of fighting in the south, but nothing confirmed so far,” Mira explained, already beginning to relax as she knew that Natsu’s expression would have given him away if something really had been going. He’d always been a terrible liar, but he failed miserably whenever he tried to tell her even the slightest fib, and there was nothing but honest confusion in the olive eyes that met her gaze. “It sounds like two factions of the government are fighting over the right to rule.”

“I’ve not heard anything here,” Natsu replied with a shrug, suddenly relieved that the job had been in such a quiet place even though it meant that he’d had to suffer for longer on the trains and buses that had got him here. “But it’s only a small town and quite far from the trade routes.” It had amused him slightly when the innkeeper had been busy telling him news that was a couple of years out of date, and the man had been utterly confused by how the Dragon-slayer knew precisely what had happened and how it had been resolved.

“Just be careful,” Mira cautioned him, and although she looked relieved at his response that didn’t stop her from adding sternly. “I don’t want you getting caught up in anything.” It was a reasonable warning as he occasionally forgot himself and still blundered into situations that he really didn’t want to be in, just because he didn’t like turning away from people that needed help, even if it was detrimental to himself and she had scolded him for it on more than one occasion.

“I won’t,” he reassured her with a smile, before adding softly. “I just want to get home to you and the twins. Speaking of which I should probably head to bed if I’m going to get up in time.” He didn’t really want to hang up on her as he really had missed her, but he knew that the sooner he managed to get home the sooner he would be able to hold her in real life.

“All right,” Mira agreed reluctantly, and he knew that she felt the same way, but then her expression brightened as she leant forward to press a kiss to the lacrima she was holding before adding softly. “Have sweet dreams.”

“You too,” he murmured as he copied the gesture, remembering with a smile how flustered he’d been the first time that she’d done, whereas now it was the way they ended all their lacrima calls. “Give the Twins a kiss from me in the morning and tell them I’ll be home soon.”

“I will,” she promised with a warm smile, well aware of how much he missed them when he was away and already knowing that he would have at least a couple of presents tucked away in his bag for them, not that they needed anything else. “Make sure you take proper care of your injuries, and I’ll try and talk to you tomorrow night,” she added quickly with a stern undertone. And Natsu blinked at her in surprise but before he could find his voice again, she had hung up on him, leaving him to stare dumbfounded at the lacrima before a wry smile spread across his lips _._ _I should have known I couldn’t fool her_. She always seemed to know when something was off, even when the rest of his friends didn’t even notice a thing.

_At least she didn’t sound too annoyed…_

   Sighing he set the lacrima back on the bedside table before glancing at the small framed picture that was stood behind it. It was a painting that Reedus had done for them on the twins second birthday, and Mira had a similar one that she took on jobs only hers showed him with their children and his had her instead. A fond smile appeared as he reached out to trace their faces. The short conversation with his wife reminding him of just how much he missed them and he made a mental note to try and call her earlier in the day so that he could have a quick chat with the kids, even if he didn’t understand half of what they were saying. Remembering his own reasons for ending the conversation he pulled himself away from the picture and carefully shimmied down on the bed, somehow managing to manoeuvre the covers from underneath himself without causing himself too much pain, and letting out a contented sigh as he made a blanket cocoon around himself. It didn’t take long for his eyes to grow heavy and he allowed them to drift shut, a smile on his lips as his thoughts were fixated firmly on his children as he drifted off to sleep at last.

****

   He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sleeping for when he was roused from a pleasant dream where he’d finally managed to beat Erza, by the sound of a massive explosion that seemed a little bit too close for comfort. Coming instantly awake after too many years of facing danger he sat up immediately, glancing around in confusion before hastily climbing out of bed, one arm coming up to wrap around his stomach as he was immediately reminded of his injury as he staggered towards the window. Just as he reached it there was another explosion, and he saw the air outside light up, and he hastily closed the last of the distance, sucking in a horrified breath as he looked outside.

_What the hell is going on?_

  The quiet town that had been his home for the past couple of weeks was gone, replaced by a blazing inferno, with nearly half the buildings already up in flames and he doubted that it would take long for the rest of them to go. Shoving the window open he coughed slightly as he realised how much smoke was in the air, only to gag a moment later as his sensitive nose caught the underlying scent of burnt flesh. Apparently whatever had happened hard started quickly, and he dreaded to think how many people had been caught up in the chaos. His eyes were watering slightly as he turned away, intent on going out to offer his help even though Mira’s warning was ringing in the back of his mind, but he was a Fire mage, which meant he was one of the few that had nothing really to fear from the fire spreading through the town.

   Natsu had barely taken half a step when there was a panicked shout from the street below, and he immediately whirled back. Eyes narrowing as he peered through the smoke, realising that there was a lot more activity than he’d noticed and it only took a moment for his gaze to land on a familiar face. Arno, a water mage from a guild in Bosco had sat with him for dinner the last few nights, and they’d hit it off, but now the usual jovial man looked frightened. And the Dragon-slayer growled as he realised the other mage was being forced along by what looked like the local guards, their blades far too close his neck for comfort.

“Oi!” He roared angrily, and without considering his own safety, he sprang out of the window, although he nearly landed in a heap as his body protested being pushed beyond its limits. He ignored the startled cries from people that had fled onto the street, instead completely focused on the guards who had turned at his shout, and he was immediately up and moving towards them. Arno didn’t look relieved to see him, if anything there was fresh panic as their gazes met and while it confused Natsu he didn’t allow himself to falter as he charged forwards, flames wrapping around his hands. “Let him go!”

“Salamander run!” Arno shouted in warning, but it came too late, and Natsu found himself being flung backwards as a blast tore up the ground in front of him, the shop to his left going up in flames and causing the frightened townsfolk to scatter with terrified cries.

   It took Natsu a couple of minutes to shake off the shock of the blast, and as he cautiously sat up, he couldn’t hold back a pained cry, a quick glance down showing that there was now a crimson patch forming on the front of his bandages. _I must’ve torn the stitches_. Cursing under his breath, he struggled back to his feet, only to freeze as he raised his head to find himself face to face with a sword. He took an instinctive step backwards, even as his eyes focused on the man holding it and coming up short as he realised that he’d just backed himself up against the wall. _Damn it all…_

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Natsu demanded angrily, not intimidated in the slightest by the dark glare being levelled at him by the guard. He’d spent far too much time around Erza and the demonic side of his wife to be fazed by a simple glare. However, he couldn’t entirely quash the flicker of trepidation that rose as another couple of guard’s appeared so that he was completely surrounded, his back to the wall. While he wasn’t worried about the odds, he didn’t really want to get into trouble with them, especially as he wasn’t a native of the country.

“All foreign mages are to be taken into custody,” the guard replied coldly, the blade shifting slightly until it was pressing against Natsu’s chest and the Dragon-slayer growled softly as he felt it piercing his skin just enough to draw a thin line of blood and his hands clenched into angry fists at this sides. There was something in the man’s tone and oddly blank eyes that worried him even more than what he’d said, although he could understand the sudden animosity towards foreign mages as everywhere he’d been while here, he’d been greeted with interest and friendliness.

“Why?” He asked struggling to keep his tone as civil as possible, trying to stave off more trouble for as long as possible and ignoring the growing burn from his reopened injury. “I was here on a job, and I know I haven’t broken any of your laws.” _At least I don’t think I have_ , he added to himself as he wracked his brain for anything that he could have done wrong, even though he had a sense that this was a lot larger than what was happening right now.

“Seven is currently undergoing a change of government, and all threats to our security are to be arrested,” one of the other guards replied and Natsu glanced at him, noting the badge that marked him as a captain with narrowed eyes, before shifting his attention to the other guards who looked rather unhappy with what their superior was saying. _Somehow I don’t think this is a peaceful transition, but even so, why are they targeting mages?_ He wondered but wasn’t given a chance to ask. “In time those who cooperate will be returned to their own countries…”

“For a cost?” Natsu demanded, practically able to see the money signs in the man’s eyes, anger rising as pieces began to fall into place. He was well aware that Seven was the poorest of their neighbours, vaguely remembering Max talking about trouble with trade between them and Fiore although at the time he had let it wash over him, only involved in the conversation because Mira had been asking how the shop was doing and he wished that’d he’d paid more attention. Not that it changed the fact the country had apparently decided to try and improve their finances by ransoming off mages that were only here to work, and he bared his teeth in a growl. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“That’s enough!” Natsu hissed as the blade pressing against his chest pressed deeper, smelling his blood that was trickling from the cut and he snarled warningly as he shifted his attention back to his captor as the guard added grimly. “You’re outnumbered, and under arrest, please come quietly before we’re required to apply force.”

   Natsu hesitated for a moment, confident that he could get away from them even with his injuries, but aware that if he did, then he was likely to find himself on the run in a country that was no longer willing to welcome him. Which meant that getting back to Fiore was going to be a nightmare. However, the thought of just handing himself over and needing to rely on the guild to get him out of this rankled. Plus he had promised Mira that he would be home soon, and there was no way he was willing to break his word to her. Sighing he closed his eyes, letting them think that he was giving up and waiting until he heard them all moving closer. _Bad idea_ …Olive eyes flew open as his flames erupted all around him and then he was running, trying not to think about the consequences as he blasted them out of the way, not faltering as he felt the sword catch his arm as the last guard crumpled into a heap in front of you.

“Sorry,” Natsu muttered gripping the newest wound as he glanced down at the knights, realising with a slight pang that they were barely out of their teens and he wished that’d he’d managed to hold back a little more. “I can’t afford to let you take me,” he added as his thoughts turned to Mira and the twins, wishing that he’d paid more attention to what his wife had been saying about the trouble in the south. _Although I think it’s safe to say, it’s no longer restricted to the south._ Suddenly remembering Arno, he turned and looked down the street, his heart falling as he realised that the other mage and his captors were gone and he cursed himself for getting distracted. He took half a step forward as though to follow them, knowing that even with the smoke in the air he would be able to track them, but then he hesitated. In his current state he wasn’t up for more prolonged fighting, and while in the past that wouldn’t have stopped him, he now how had his family to protect and he couldn’t afford to be reckless.

_I’m sorry_ …

   It left a nasty taste in his mouth as he forced himself to turn away, aware that he needed to get moving in one way or another as it wouldn’t take long for more guards to arrive. Gritting his teeth, he turned back to the inn intending to grab his stuff before taking off, well aware that he was going to have to travel across the country to avoid trouble and that he was going to need supplies to do that. Plus he needed the communication lacrima so that he could warn the guild not to allow anyone else to enter Seven and to pass on the message to the other guilds, and to make sure none of his friends was idiotic enough to try and come after him. It was bad enough that he was stuck here, he wasn’t about to let anyway else walk into this mess. However, there was a whistling sound, and the inn erupted into flames in front of his eyes as something slammed into it, and he could only watch with horrified eyes as the entire building shuddered, a quick glance at the floor his room was on showing that it was a lost cause and he growled out a curse. _Damn, I really can’t catch a break!_

   He had no time to lament the loss of his belongings as there were shouts from the end of the street and the sound of armoured feet heading in his direction, and he knew that if he lingered any longer, then he wasn’t going to be able to avoid another fight. He shot one last glance towards the inn before groaning in defeat and turning away, breaking into a run as he heard another shout as he was spotted, cursing his distinctive appearance as he knew that there was no way he was going to be blend in. Ignoring his injuries, he sped up, slipping into an alleyway as he heard another explosion behind him, struggling to force back the dread that was rising in his chest as he pressed onwards.

_How the hell am I getting out of this one?_

****

The next morning:

   Mira hummed softly as she entered the guild, Mercury curled up dozing in his arms while his sister toddled slowly ahead of them, the stubborn little girl having recently decided that she didn’t want to be carried by anyone but Natsu. The three of them had been spending nearly every day at the guild since Natsu had gone away, Mira needing the distraction from her loneliness in the strangely empty house, and using the diversion of playdates with Freya and Asuka to wear out her children and stop them from asking for Natsu. Still, she felt happier this morning after the brief conversation with her husband the night before, already counting down the days until he was back, and overly relieved that neither of them would have to work for a while.

   It was only when she glanced up that she realised that the guild was far too quiet, and her smile disappeared as she realised that everyone was looking at her with worried, almost pitying expressions and her arms tightened around Mercury as fear engulfed her and she reached out to pull Sakura back to her side.

“What’s going on?”

“Have you spoken to Natsu recently?” Erza was suddenly there in front of her, Makarov and the rest of Natsu’s old team close on her heels, but while her words were urgent, there was none of the usual forcefulness in her voice which Mira immediately noted.

“I spoke to him last night,” she replied with a frown, her concern growing when they didn’t look relieved at the news, and her voice shook slightly as she added almost desperately. “He said he was heading home today…”

“Mira…” Makarov began hesitantly before trailing off with a worried expression, and she turned to look at him she realised that he seemed to have aged overnight.

“What the hell is going on?” Mira demanded as her fear began to morph into outright panic, _why aren’t they just telling me what is going on?_ The only time they usually hesitated to tell her something was when her Dragon-slayer had got himself injured or in trouble, and she struggled to keep her voice level as she glanced down at the twins. “Is Natsu okay?”

“Dada!” Sakura looked up as she caught Natsu’s head and Mira hastily shushed her, not missing the way her friends had blanched at her daughter’s words, and she glared at Makarov. Silently demanded answers even as she tried to settle Sakura who was still trying to call for Natsu now that she had been reminded of the fact that her daddy wasn’t there with her.

“Seven has closed its borders,” Makarov said heavily, and she froze, eyes widening in horror as he continued in a grim tone. “And there have been reports of foreign mages being arrested, while the fighting that was happening in the south seems to have spread throughout the country overnight.” Mira could only stare at him for a long moment, her ears buzzing as she desperately tried to block out the implications of what he was saying, but it was a lost cause as her own concerns about the fighting came back to her. She had warned Natsu, but this…this was far worse than what she’d heard, and this time there was no way to keep her voice steady as she whispered quietly.

“What...?”

“We tried to get hold of him, but the lacrima wouldn’t even connect,” Lucy explained gently with worried eyes as she saw the colour draining out of her friend’s face. And that news took the last of the strength from Mira’s legs, and she felt herself falling as they gave way beneath her, the Celestial mage managing to catch her and Mercury before they could hit the ground. “Mira!” Gently Lucy tugged Mercury out of Mira’s arms, trying to soothe the newly awakened toddler even as Lisanna appeared and took charge of Sakura who was kicking up a fuss, the tension in the air adding to her increasingly hysterical demands for her daddy.

“Natsu…” Mira whispered desperately, barely aware of what was going on around her. _He promised that he would be home soon…this can’t be happening…it can’t be…_ There were tears on her cheeks as she glanced down at her hands which had clenched against the floor, staring down at her wedding band, trying to desperately block out the thought that she might not get to see Natsu again, and that they had no idea what had happened to her husband. #

_Natsu…_

“We don’t know for sure that he’s been caught up in it,” Gray had appeared at her side, wrapping one arm around her shoulders to try and support her, while he reached out to grasp her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze before adding strongly. “And this is Natsu we’re talking about, even if he has been caught up in something it won’t be enough to stop him.”

“But, he’s injured…” She whispered unable to bring herself to look up as she heard the fresh gasps of alarm as her words registered, fresh tears trickling free as their conversation from the night before played through her mind. _Why didn’t I tell him to leave then?_ But he had been visibly tired, and she knew that he was hurt, and it might not have stopped him getting caught up in whatever was happening. _But…_

“What?” Gray demanded urgently, his confident mask cracking slightly.

“I don’t know how badly,” she admitted as she finally glanced up, realising that they were all watching her intently, and her voice cracked slightly. “He was trying to hide it from me, but I can always tell when he’s hurting.” The de-ageing incident had taught her just how much the Dragon-slayer tried to keep to himself, and from that moment on she had applied herself to studying his behaviour every time something happened, and it hadn’t taken her long to discover the signs that told her when he was trying to hide things from her. In the beginning, it had annoyed the Fire mage that she could read him so easily, but with time he had come to accept it as part of their relationship, not that it stopped him from still trying to hide things from her. “What…I…What do I do?”

“Wait,” Makarov said softly, holding up his hand as Mira immediately opened her mouth to protest and despite herself, she found herself automatically obeying the silent command, and his expression softened as he met and held her gaze. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but until we have a better idea of what’s happening, I can’t risk sending any of you after him.” He knew without a doubt that nearly every mage here would happily go after the Fire mage regardless of the danger to themselves. Especially with the sight of Mira falling apart in front of them and the twins calling for Natsu, as Mercury had joined in with his sister’s cries. But he also knew that Natsu would never forgive himself if they were put in needless danger because of him, and he couldn’t risk their lives when there were too many unknowns about the situation.

“But…”

“Even if he’s injured Gray is right,” He cut gently across her protest, meeting the Ice mage’s eyes briefly when Gray glanced up in surprise, before continuing softly. “We need to have faith in Natsu, and I know that he’ll do everything in his power to get back to you and the twins.” The Dragon-slayer had always had the ability to overcome overwhelming odds, but since he’d married Mira and had Mercury and Sakura, he had become surprisingly cautious with his own safety and nearly unstoppable when it came to pushing through situations. He just hoped that it would be enough in this situation.

“There has to be something we can do,” Lisanna protested, glancing up from her nephew as she took in the devastated look on her sister’s face, well aware that the thought of being unable to do something must be tearing the older woman apart.

“I’m going to contact the council and see what news they have,” Makarov replied with a sigh, wishing that he had something more that he could offer them, their helplessness in the current situation weighing heavily on him as well. “And I’ll contact some of the other guilds closer to the border, they might have heard more about what’s going on than we have. But for now, that’s all we can do.”

   An awkward silence fell over the guild after that, no one knowing what to do or say as they watched Gray trying to comfort his best friend’s wife, while the twins continued to cry for their father, not realising what was happening around them. Eventually, it was Lucy that took charge, realising that Mira needed a break to try and gather herself and it was clear that the toddlers were going to run out of energy soon as well. Gently scooping Mercury up she got to her feet, ignoring the way he squirmed in an attempt to get away although she hoped that he wouldn’t remember that he had magic as she’d already been singed more than once by his outburst.

“Let’s get them upstairs,” she explained softly when the others glanced at her, and Makarov nodded in approval, watching with sad eyes as Gray carefully eased Mira back to her feet, catching her when she wobbled unsteadily before guiding her forwards. It was clear that she was still in a daze as she made no move to reach for her children, nor did she show any awareness of the rest of the guild as she let the Ice mage lead her up the stairs, Lisanna and Lucy following after her with the twins.

“Master…” Erza said softly once she was sure they were out of hearing range, her hands clenching at her side and Makarov sighed as he glanced at her, seeing the fire in her eyes and already knowing what she was about to say and he hastily shook his head.

“Even you might not be safe going there,” he said sternly, unsurprised when her eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to contradict him, and he was quick to continue before she could speak. “Natsu wouldn’t want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger.” She stared at him for a long moment before nodding reluctantly in understanding, but he was caught by surprise when her expression softened as she studied him.

“You’re a lot more worried than you were letting on…”

“Yeah,” he admitted with a sigh as he turned to glance towards the stairs. There was no way that he was going to be anything but positive in front of Mira and the twins, but he couldn’t completely push aside the fear and dread that had filled him when the news had first come through to him. As much as he had faith in Natsu and his insane abilities, this was an entire country they were talking about, and the Dragon-slayer was on the far side of it, potentially with thousands of enemies between him and home.

_Even he might not be able to come through this one…_

**

   Mira managed to pull herself back into the present as she was led into the infirmary, although there was nothing she could do about the tears trickling down her cheeks, but hearing her children crying gave her the strength to push her fear back behind a shaky wall for the time being. She was vaguely aware of the relieved expressions on the others’ faces as she sat on the nearest bed before reaching for her toddlers. And they were more than willing to hand over the increasingly hysterical children across to her, watching in awe as they immediately settled somewhat as she cradled them against her chest as she buried her lips into Sakura’s hair.

“Mira…”

“I want to be alone for a while…” Mira cut in before her sister could finish, pulling back just enough to look up at them, seeing the reluctance in their expressions before adding softly. “Please…” She sniffled slightly as her voice wobbled, well aware that the full force of what was happening hadn’t hit her yet, and she didn’t want them all to witness the breakdown that she knew was still to come. Apparently, they had also cottoned onto this as their expressions softened, Gray nodding slightly before heading for the door without a word. Lisanna and Lucy exchanged looks before heading after him, although the latter hesitated for a moment, her eyes sad as she took in the small family huddled together.

“Make sure you come and get us if you need something,” she added softly once Mira had turned to look at her. And she waited until the Take-over had given a small nod of acknowledgement before following the others reluctantly out of the room, unable to shake the feeling that she was letting Natsu down as she closed the door behind her.

   Mira let out a soft sigh as she heard the door close having reburied her head against her children’s, already feeling the shaky barrier holding back her emotions beginning to crack and she hastily shored it up, determined to settle the twins before she gave into her own feelings. Thankfully their anguished cries for Natsu had died down now, although she knew that it was because they were tiring, rather than because they were calming down and even now their cries of ‘ _Dada_ ’ were echoing in her ears. It had been bad enough trying to comfort them when she had known that Natsu was coming home. _What am I supposed to tell them now?_ She sniffled and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to hold back the wail that was rising in her chest. _Why? Why is this happening?_

   It only took a few more minutes for both of them to drop off into an uneasy sleep, but it was nearly ten minutes after that, that she found herself able to relax her hold on them. Her usual protectiveness intensified by the fact that she had no idea where Natsu was, needing to cling to the precious gifts that he had given her, to protect them in the way that she wasn’t able to protect him. However, eventually, she gently settled them onto the bed, wiping the drying tear tracks from their cheeks even as her own tears continued to fall, carefully tucking them in and activating the barriers that Freed had painstakingly installed on all the beds. She stared at them for a long moment, easily picking out the features that had come from her husband and it was as she was staring at Sakura’s unruly pink hair that the first sob welled up. And she choked on it for a moment before burying her face in her hands before she gave in as heaving sobs wracked her body.

_Natsu…_

**

A couple of hours later:

   Lisanna hesitated before knocking on the infirmary door, straining her ears for a response. She had been doing her best to give Mira some space after the shock she’d had that morning, although she’d had a battle to keep Elfman away as he had wanted to make sure that their sister was fine, but finally it had got to the point where she hadn’t been willing to wait any longer. She knew that Mira had been putting on a brave face earlier and that she had needed the time alone to let some of it out, but it wasn’t like her sister to stay away even in situations like this, and the fact that it had been nearly three hours had only fanned her worry.

“Mira,” she called softly when there was no reply, quietly pushing the door open and slipping inside, coming up short as she realised that Mira was sat where they had left her, with silent tears still trickling down her cheeks. “Mira?” Slowly her sister turned to look at her, the redness around her eyes indicating that she had been in this state for a while and Lisanna had to fight the urge to run to her and wrap her up in a hug, sensing that it wasn’t what Mira wanted at the moment. For a long moment, they just stared at one another, before Mira turned away slightly to look down at the toddlers still curled up fast asleep next to her.

“I can still hear them crying for him…” She whispered finally, her voice hoarse from crying and hand was trembling as she reached out to brush her fingers across Mercury’s cheeks before repeating the gesture with Sakura. “What am I supposed to tell them?” They were too young to understand anything more than that their daddy wasn’t there where he was supposed to be, but they usually settled when she reassured them that Natsu would be home soon. But she doubted that she could say that convincingly at the moment, and the thought of trying to find some way to explain what was happening broke her heart, and she glanced helplessly towards Lisanna.

“I-I don’t know,” Lisanna admitted sadly as she glanced at her niece and nephew, wondering what they were going to do if Natsu… _If Natsu doesn’t_ …She shook her head, refusing to believe for a moment that the Dragon-slayer would ever let something like this keep him from his family for long, let alone kill him, and as that thought registered she straightened with a decisive nod. “Tell them that their Daddy will be home soon and that he’s just running a little late! There’s no way that Natsu won’t come back to you. To them.” _To Fairy Tail…_

“Lisanna…” Mira trailed off as she glanced back at her children, reaching up to brush away her own tears as she let Lisanna’s words settle over her. She wasn’t sure that she completely believed them at the moment, but still, they were comforting, and after a moment she looked back at her sister. “Thank you, I guess I can’t see things clearly at the moment.”

“I think that’s understandable,” Lisanna replied with a small smile, fairly sure that if she were in her sister’s place, she would still be sat there sobbing her heart out, and she knew that was another reason why Mira and Natsu worked so well. As devoted as they were to one another, and as much as they relied on the other, they were strong enough to hold themselves together when they were apart like this, always willing to do whatever it took to protect their family _. Natsu, can’t leave this behind_. “The Master has started trying to contact the council and the others guilds, so hopefully we’ll have some news soon.”

“I just hope that Natsu doesn’t decide to get involved with whatever’s going on,” Mira murmured softly, his promise from the night before flashing through her mind. But that had been before anything had happened, and she knew her husband. No matter how much he tried, there was no way he would be able to ignore what was happening if people were being hurt right in front of him, and her voice shook slightly as she said as much. “I can’t see him sitting there quietly letting them take him, or anyone else for that matter.”

“He’s a lot more careful that he was,” Lisanna pointed out, trying to sound as reassuring as possible, although she knew that Mira was right to worry. How often had Natsu risked himself to save people around him, even those that had been enemies only moments before? Still,  things had changed in recent years, and her voice was warm as she continued. “You three are good for him, and I don’t think he’ll be reckless enough to do anything that might threaten that.”

“I hope that’s enough,” Mira replied softly, wishing that she could believe in her sister’s words. However, her expression grew darker as she turned back to her children, and fresh tears trickled down her cheeks as she studied them and her voice trembled as she added quietly. “They need their daddy, and I need my husband.”

“Mira…”

****

Two days later:

   Natsu groaned softly as he stumbled into a tree, reaching out with a trembling hand to steady himself as the world spun wildly around him and he had to close his eyes, nausea rising as everything blurred into a smear of colour. It had been two days since he’d fled the town and he hadn’t dared stop moving for more than an odd hour here and there when his body refused to cooperate any further. Which had resulted in more than one near miss, and it hadn’t taken him long to discover that they were now hunting down foreign mages with a vengeance. Or that he was directly targeted. He guessed that his client must’ve shared the fact that he was in the country, as more than once he had heard them shouting his name during their brief encounters. Something they couldn’t have gleaned from his actions in the town, and he’d glimpsed a wanted poster with his face on when he’d skirted a small village the day before. Clearly, they weren’t going to let him go without a fight.

   Taking a deep breath, he inched his eyes open once more, relieved to find that the world had come to a standstill once more, although he noted that his vision was still blurry around the edges. _Damn._ He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to go on like this for much longer, and his eyes were narrowed as he glanced down at the bloody bandages around his midriff and the rough one that he had managed to tie around his arm. Neither wound was doing particularly well, but he didn’t dare try and find a healer, and without supplies or money there was nothing much he could do, which meant that his situation was even more precarious. He had already found himself having difficulty escaping from some of the hunting parties, and more than once he had found himself helpless to intervene as he witnessed other mages being caught and herded away, their terrified faces burnt into his memory. Even his promise to Mira not helping to ease his guilt over not being to help them.

   Wincing he straightened, knowing that he really needed to find somewhere to rest for a while, but feeling far too exposed where he was. Hesitantly he pushed himself away from the tree, wrapping his uninjured arm around his abdomen as he staggered forward, biting down on his lip to stop himself from making any noises that might give away his position. However, he’d barely gone a dozen steps before he knew that he was in trouble, the world narrowing to a thin line of colour as he felt himself pitch forwards, unable to hold back a sharp cry as he landed on his front. Agony lanced through him, and he desperately rolled onto his side to take the weight of his wound, curling in on himself as he attempted to ride out the pain.

   It took a few minutes for the pain to subside enough for him to catch his breath, and he blinked tears from the corner of his eyes before trying to force himself back to his feet. He couldn’t afford to collapse here out in the open, not when his family were waiting for him to get home, but while his mind was more than willing, his body wasn’t, and he slumped back to the ground as the last of his strength drained out of him. The thin line of colour was rapidly disappearing and defeat washed over him as he realised that he was going to lose this fight, and seconds later he tumbled into darkness with his wife’s name on his lips.

“Mira…”


	8. 5: Part 2

Two days later:

   Mira watched somewhat listlessly as Lisanna entertained the twins with her animal transformations, for once the soft giggles from the toddlers failing to bring even a slight smile to her face. She was vaguely aware of the worried eyes that were watching her every move, but she couldn’t bring herself react let alone try and reassure them, barely able to focus on anything beyond the fact that Natsu wasn’t home where he belonged and the fact that they still had no news on where he could be. In fact, they had received very little news on what was happening across the border, and each hour that passed without a word was making it harder and harder to hold herself together. _You promised that you were coming home soon Natsu, so, please…_

“Mira…” She was dragged out of her thoughts by the quiet voice, and she turned slowly only to stiffen as she realised that Makarov was the one speaking to her. They had seen very little of him over the past couple of days as he had been continuously calling in favours to try and get the information they needed, and her eyes widened as she took in the grim expression on his face, and dread pooled in her stomach even as she forced herself to her feet.

“Is there news?” She demanded _. Please. Please tell me that they at least know where he is…_

“I’m afraid that no one seems to have heard anything about Natsu, he’s certainly not been amongst the few mages that have made it out of Seven so far,” Makarov replied softly,  well aware that wasn't the news that she had been longing for, and his heart ached as her face crumpled as his words registered. At once Lucy and Lisanna were there as Elfman moved across to watch the twins, both of them wrapping an arm around her as her legs threatened to give way beneath her. _Natsu_ …Her eyes were stinging fiercely as she struggled to hold back her tears, her gaze never wavering from Makarov, and she realised from the darkness in his eyes that he still had more to say and summoning up her courage she forced herself to ask.

“What else…?”

“They’ve decided to close the borders completely,” Makarov continued heavily, closing his eyes for a moment as he saw the horror and fear in her eyes, wishing desperately that he had better news for her. Sighing he forced himself to continue, well aware that the rest of the guild had paused to listen to what he was saying, and bracing himself for the outrage that he was sure to come raining down when they heard the next bit. “The King has ordered that no more mages from Fiore are allowed to pass into Seven, even for rescue missions.” In a way, he could understand the decision, as there was every chance that anyone heading into Seven could become another hostage, but from a personal point of view, he wished that he could force the King to change his mind.

“What?!” Erza demanded loudly as she moved across to join them, scowling at Makarov even though she could see that he was just as unhappy with the decision as the rest of them. She had been furious when he’d prevented her from leaving straight away, even though she had realised the truth in his words, but now she was regretting waiting. Even if she had wound up in danger, at least they would have had someone on the same side of the border as Natsu. “You can’t be serious? Surely he realises that this is affecting everyone? We can’t be the only guild with someone trapped in that country.” As much as she hated the thought of wishing that situation on anyone, she couldn’t help but hope it was true, just because then at least there would be some potential allies that Natsu could turn to if he could find them of course.

“What choice does he have?” Makarov asked softly, and she opened her mouth to protest, only to hesitate as she met his gaze and realised that he was forcing himself to speak rationally. “Letting more mages cross the border, is just going to provide them with more targets.”

“But…” Mira whispered as she allowed Lucy and Lisanna to gently ease her back into her seat, barely aware of the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. _Why? Are they giving up on them? Are they giving up on him?_ The thought that they might be able to go after her husband had been one of the few things she had been clinging to for comfort as they waited for news and she felt sick as she realised that even that was being taken from her. “Natsu…”

“Master we can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Lucy protested as she felt Mira beginning to shake, blinking away tears of her own as her gaze shifted across to her God-children. She knew that Makarov loved the twins, and she couldn’t believe that he would really be stood there telling them to give up on their father, and yet there was no give in his expression when he met her gaze.

“We have no other choice. The borders are being patrolled by Rune Knights, there’s no way to slip through, and Fairy Tail cannot afford a war with the King,” he replied softly, hesitating for a moment as he glanced at Mira before adding gently. “Natsu wouldn’t want that to happen.” Mira’s eyes widened at that, and she desperately wanted to protest, but she couldn’t force her words past the lump that had formed in her throat, because as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t deny his words. Natsu would be furious if the entire guild were in danger just because of him. Besides, if there was a war here, there was no way she could guarantee the twins safety, and she knew that there was nothing more important to him than that. _But Natsu…_

“So you’re just giving up?” Erza demanded.

“No,” Makarov growled, meeting her gaze without flinching for a moment, before turning back to Mira and waiting for her to meet his gaze once more before adding. “I’m choosing to believe in Natsu.”

****

   Natsu groaned softly as he drifted slowly back towards awareness, immediately becoming aware of the burning pain radiating from his abdomen and he automatically wrapped an arm around it, even as his eyes snapped open as he caught the sound of approaching footsteps. The world spun around him for a moment, and he felt his stomach roll violently, and he had to swallow back bile as he struggled to focus on the blurry figure that had appeared at his side, tensing as memories of what had been going on came rushing back. Pushing through the dizziness he immediately shot into a seated position, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain and instead focusing on summoning his flames, letting out a warning growl as he lifted a blazing arm protectively.

“Easy, we’re not enemies,” a soft voice said, and after waiting a moment to see if it was going to be followed by an attack, the Dragon-slayer slowly lowered his arm, although he made no effort to extinguish his flames. The man in front of him looked as though he was probably a few years younger, and there was no sign of anything that screamed either danger or affiliation with the men that had attacked him back in the town. However, what eventually got him to douse his flames was the familiar smell of ice and mountain pine that he usually associated with Gray coming from the man. _Ice mage_ , his eyes narrowed at that realisation and his gaze rove over the man, finally spotting what looked like part of a guild tattoo poking out from under the ragged collar of the man’s tunic.

“Who are you?” He asked, deciding that at least for now he could trust the man in front of him, although he didn't dare fully lower his guard.

“Guild mages from Iceberg,” the man replied, a hint of relief in his expression as he slowly dropped down onto his knees a short distance away, and Natsu felt himself relax further at the confirmation that he was around other guild mages. Although he frowned as he finally noticed the use of the plural. “We got caught up in this mess. My name is Hiro, and the silent one over there is Ito,” Hiro added, gesturing across the clearing and Natsu followed the gesture, cursing himself for his own lack of awareness as he finally noted the older man crouched by the remains of a campfire. For a moment they eyed each other up, and Natsu shifted uneasily as he got the impression that Ito really didn’t like him, but before he could say anything Hiro had continued. “We found you collapsed two days ago.”

“Two days?” Natsu asked in alarm, eyes wide as he imagined how worried his family must be by this stage, and knowing that he must still have one hell of a journey ahead of him to even reach the border and he clenched his hands in his lap.

_Mira... Sakura...Mercury…_

“You’re injured pretty badly,” Hiro pointed out, gesturing towards his abdomen and when he glanced down Natsu was surprised to find his bandages had been replaced, although from the small crimson spot he could make out the wound itself was still a mess. “We stitched it up the best we could, but we don’t have much in the way of supplies.”

“Thank you,” he muttered as he ghosted a hand over the bandages. _Am I really going to be able to get home like this?_

“You’re welcome…?” Hiro asked, and Natsu blinked as he realised that he hadn’t returned the favour of introducing himself, hesitating for a moment before replying. They didn’t seem to be enemies, but he didn’t really know anything about them. Still, they had gone out of their way to help him, and he owed them for that at least, so with a sigh, he held out a hand before softly replying.

“Natsu…Natsu Dragneel from Fiore.”

“I would say nice to meet you,” Hiro replied with a terse smile as he reached out to shake the proffered hand, and Natsu was struck by an odd urge to laugh. It seemed odd to be introducing himself in such a normal way while the country around them was descending into chaos, and he couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement at the other mage’s next words. “But I guess these aren’t really the best circumstances.” On the far side of the clearing Ito let out a soft snort, briefly glaring at Natsu once more before storming off into the trees around them, and Hiro sighed as the Dragon-slayer turned to look at him. “Ignore him, we lost a guildmate during the first attack…”

“And he wishes that you could have saved them rather than me,” Natsu finished for him, relieved to at least know that it wasn’t something he had done that had caused the other mage to dislike him, and in a way, he could understand why Ito felt that way. “I don’t mind,” he added with a small shrug, only to find himself wincing as the movement tugged on his stomach and he felt himself swaying slightly. _Damn it…_ He’d been hoping that he could get up and moving straight away, but it seemed as though his body had other ideas, and he jolted when he felt a warm hand on his arm. Blinking in surprise as he realised that Hiro had managed to close the last of the distance between them while he'd been distracted by the pain and was now carefully propping him up. “Thanks…”

“You should get some more rest,” Hiro encouraged kindly, carefully helping to ease him back onto the bedroll despite Natsu’s weak protests. The Dragon-slayer tried to push himself up again, unable to focus on anything but the thought that he was wasting time here when he should be trying to get home, and yet he couldn’t shake off the gentle arm on his chest guiding him down, and eventually he slumped back in defeat. “You’re lucky to still be alive. For a time we weren't sure that you were going to make it, so you shouldn't push yourself.” Natsu couldn’t really disagree with that assessment, exhaustion rapidly pulling him under, and the last thing he saw before he dozed off was Hiro pulling the covers back over him, and he hoped that he wasn’t making a mistake trusting them.

****

That evening:

   Lucy hesitated for a moment before quietly opening the door to the guest room that Mira and the twins were using in the guild, stepping inside and coming to a halt just inside as she realised that the Take-over mage was in the middle of telling Sakura and Mercury a bedtime story. For a moment she contemplated slipping away and leaving the small family in peace, but then the words of the story registered, and she found herself frozen in place. _I know this story, Mama used to tell it to me when I was younger_ …Unable to pull herself away, she instead leant against the wall by the door so that she wouldn’t disturb Mira, especially as she took in the tears that were glistening in the blue eyes that never wavered from her children.

“…When the Princess arrived at the Milky way on the Seventh of July, she found that there was no bridge for her to cross, and she began to cry as she realised that she could see her husband on the other side of the Milky way but couldn’t get to his side.” Mira’s voice wobbled slightly, and Lucy was about to step forward and intervene when the older woman straightened and took a deep breath, her voice softer but steady once more as she continued, reaching out to press a gentle to kiss to both of the twins on the forehead with a watery smile. “Just as she was beginning to lose hope, her cries reached the ears of a flock of magpies and taking pity on her; they flew up and formed a bridge at her feet, allowing her to rush across and embrace her husband for the first time in a year…” She choked up again as she reached the last bit, and this time she made no effort to continue and instead she sat back in the seat, finally allowing the smile to slip off her face now that she was sure the twins were asleep.

“Mira…”

“Lucy, sorry I didn’t hear you come in,” Mira’s voice was listless as she turned to glance at the Celestial mage, her eyes swimming with unshed tears even as she tried to force a smile. “Is everything okay?”

“I thought you might want some company,” Lucy replied hesitantly, well aware that Mira had exploded earlier in the day when someone had asked if she was okay, well aware that there was no way the older woman could be anywhere approaching okay at the moment. _Are any of us?_ What was happening with Natsu had cast a pall over the entire guild, and she knew that it wasn’t going to disappear until her best friend was back home with them. Swallowing hard at that thought she shifted her attention to the children sleeping on the bed, both of them so much like Natsu that it hurt, and her voice was trembling slightly as she forced herself to continue. “I should have realised it was the twins' bedtime.”

“I’m trying to give them some normality,” Mira explained softly, her lips twisting up on the last word and she glanced down at them before adding quietly. “They’re not happy, and no matter what I do, they keep asking for N-Natsu.” The take-over mage closed her eyes as she stumbled over Natsu’s name, unsurprised when tears began to trickle down her cheeks once more. _Natsu…_ She always missed him when he was away on jobs even if it was only for a day or two, but that didn’t come anywhere close to the hole that seemed to have formed from the moment that she’d first heard what was happening. _Please come home, I can’t do this without you._

“He’ll come home,” Lucy said firmly, and Mira’s eyes flew open as she turned to stare at the blonde, not sure what to make of the sheer certainty that she could hear in her voice. How can you sound like that? You’ve heard the news. You heard what the Master said! Her doubt must’ve shown in her face, because Lucy offered her a small smile before moving across to join her, sinking down in a crouch in front of her and reaching out to grasp her hands, and Mira found herself unable to look away from the Celestial Mage. “I know that he’ll come home, because he always does and because he has you three waiting for him. Natsu is probably still the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, but he’s not as foolish as to throw that away. We just have to believe in him, and he’ll come through those doors with a massive grin and probably a dozen ridiculous stories to tell us.”

“Lucy…”

“It’s okay if you can’t believe that at the moment,” Lucy cut her off softly, reaching up to brush away the tears that were still trickling down her cheeks. “That’s why we’re all here. We’ll say it as often as you need until he’s back home again.” _Do you hear me Natsu? You better get your ass back home!_ She added silently, praying that her best friend realised just how much they all needed him to come home.

   Mira stared at her for a moment, feeling a little bit of the pain in her chest easing as she realised that Lucy really meant what she was saying. _I keep forgetting I’m not alone_ , she realised with a slight pang, recalling Lisanna’s words from the other night and she couldn’t hold back a hiccupping sob, and before Lucy had realised what was happening, the older woman had lunged forward into her arms. Recovering swiftly, she wrapped her arms around Mira as she felt her dissolving into sobs against her, and murmuring gentle reassurances she shifted them both into a more comfortable position.

“I want him home,” Mira whispered softly after a few minutes, clutching Lucy tighter as her sobs increased in force, burying her face against the Celestial mage’s shoulder to smother any noises as she didn’t want to wake the twins. The last thing they needed to see now was their mother falling to pieces, but even that thought did little to stem the tears trailing down her cheeks. “I want him home…”

“I know…”

_Natsu, please hurry…_

****

The next morning:

   Natsu was sat resting in the shade of a tree when Hiro wandered across to join him, quietly handing him a bottle of water with a quiet smile before settling down beside him, staring at him pointedly until the Dragon-slayer reluctantly began to drink. He could practically feel Ito's eyes burning into him from the other side of the camp, and he had to fight the urge to glare at him. While he could understand his mistrust, it was beginning to grate on his nerves, after all, he hadn’t done anything remotely threatening since he’d woken up…and he certainly had no intention of doing anything at this point. Still, he doubted that they would stick around much longer, and he really couldn’t summon up the energy to try and convince the older man to trust him when they probably wouldn’t see each other again.

“We’re leaving as soon as it gets dark,” Hiro said softly a moment later, and Natsu immediately turned to look at him, surprised that they were waiting that long as he knew that they were both eager to move on before they were found. The Ice mage apparently noticed his surprise, because he leant back with a sigh before explaining. “It’s safer to travel at night nowadays. You’re welcome to come with us.”

“Where are you heading to?”

“Home to Iceberg, it helps that it's also the closest border to us,” Hiro replied gesturing vaguely through the trees, before turning expectant eyes towards Natsu who sighed, already knowing what he was going to ask even before he spoke. “Why don’t you come with us?”

“Sorry…” Natsu said softly, touched that the other mage was willing to continue helping him, especially when it had already caused tension between him and his partner. However, although it was tempting to accept the offer, and not just for the company because he was aware that he was far from at his best. There was no way he could, and with a sigh, he glanced up at the sky before adding softly. “I need to get back to Fiore as soon as possible.”

“Do you realise how much territory that’s going to involve crossing?” Hiro demanded incredulously, and Natsu was touched by the honest concern in the dark eyes staring at him. “Surely it would be easier to come to Iceberg, and then travel down to Fiore? From what we’ve heard the fighting is even worse down near your border.”

“It might be safer, but it’ll take longer,” Natsu replied grimly as he leant against the tree, trying not to think about just how much time it was going to take to get to the border, especially as he was still healing. Still, what other choice did he have, waiting around until he was fully healed was out of the question, and the thought of taking a longer route left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. “I made a promise that I was going to be home soon, and I can’t break that promise.” _Mira…_ He had already lost a lot of time because of his injury, and he could just imagine what kind of news had been filtering out of Severn. She must be worried out of her mind at the moment because of him, and there was no way he was going to leave her in that state for any longer than necessary, and the twins. His hands clenched at his sides.

_I have to get home to them…_

“But…”

“I’ll be fine,” Natsu said reassuringly, although he knew that it wasn’t going to be overly effective given the fact that he was covered in bruises and bandages, and sure enough Hiro didn’t look overly convinced. Sighing he gestured at his main injury, grimacing slightly as the movement pulled on the rough stitches before adding softly. “You’ll be able to travel easier without me anyway. You’ve done more than enough to help me anyway.” He had heard them arguing when he was waking up, and he didn’t want to risk causing more tension between them. Besides they really had risked more than enough by staying in one place long enough to let him recover enough to be able to move under his own steam, let alone sharing their limited supplies with a complete stranger.

“Fine,” Hiro replied with a sigh, still not looking overly happy, although there was a hint of relief in his eyes as he glanced across at his partner, although it was carefully hidden from sight when he turned back to Natsu. “Just don’t throw your life away needlessly.”

“I have no intention of doing that,” Natsu vowed grimly as he glanced down at his wedding ring, running a finger over it.

_Mira, wait for me…._

****

   Makarov sighed as he gestured to the pile of reports on his desk, before turning his attention to Gajeel and Pantherlily who were stood awkwardly in front of him. While he had been perfectly serious in his reply to Erza’s question the day before, there was no way he could just sit back and leave everything up to Natsu. He had just been reluctant to suggest anything in front of the guild as a whole as he knew that his brats were riled up enough to rush in without thinking at the moment. It was for that reason that the had waited until the morning before beginning to make a move, and why he had decided to ask Gajeel for help, as despite his brash nature the Dragon-slayer had proven to be talented at working behind the scenes when it was required.

“I’m sorry to ask this of you…”

“It’s not a problem,” Gajeel muttered under his breath. Wondering when the old fool was going to get it through his head that the Dragon-slayer really didn’t mind jobs like this, even as he steadfastly ignored the knowing look his partner was giving him. Well aware that Lily had long since realised that it meant a lot to the Dragon-slayer to realise that someone actually worried about him in this way. “It’s better than waiting around for news,” he added bluntly, and there was more than a little truth to that statement. His relationship with Natsu had mellowed considerably over the years, and he considered the Fire mage a close friend, and rival, and he had been itching to head after the idiot from the moment they’d first learnt what was going on.

“I doubt you’ll be able to get over the border,” Makarov said warningly, knowing that no matter what he said the Iron Dragon-slayer would try, but at least he would be subtler in his attempts, whereas Erza was more likely to try and barge her way through directly. Crimson eyes gleamed at the unspoken challenge, and he bit back a sigh, deciding that it was better to trust in the Dragon-slayer’s judgement than quick up a fuss at this point. “But we need to know what’s going on, and I don’t trust the council to pass on all the information they receive.”

“Understood.”

“Gajeel…” Makarov began softly, hesitating for a moment as he knew how much Iron mage hated being molly-coddled, but he couldn’t bring himself to send the younger man off without at least some words of warning. “Be careful, we don’t want something to happen to you too.”

“I’m always careful,” Gajeel replied with a broad grin, but there was a softness to the crimson eyes that met his for a moment that told him that his words had been heard. Sighing he nodded, knowing better than to drag the meeting out, and with a last smirk Gajeel turned and slipped out the office with Lily close on his heels, the door closing softly behind them.

_Please make sure you come back safely…_

****

   Night had barely fallen before Hiro and Ito began to make preparations to leave, the older man still doing everything he could to avoid Natsu, and the Dragon-slayer sighed as he remained in his seat beneath the tree. He knew that he needed to leave soon as well, but he wanted to at least see them on their way, and it wasn’t as though he had anything to pack. Hiro had tried to offer him some supplies, but he had refused even before he’d caught the sour expression on Ito’s face. Knowing that they would need everything they still had to get them to the border and he refused to be the reason why they failed to reach safety even if it meant his own journey was going to be more difficult.

   It was barely ten minutes later that they finally approached him, and he climbed carefully to his feet, well aware that his body wouldn’t cope if he tore the stitches yet again.

“Take care of yourself,” Hiro said softly as he held out his hand, he’d made several more attempts in between naps to convince Natsu to join them, and even now he could see that the Ice mage wasn’t happy about the idea of him heading off on his own. The worry was touching, but he couldn’t let it weaken his resolve, and he straightened as he reached out to accept the offered hand.

“You too,” Natsu replied with a smile as he shook Hiro’s hand, not making an effort to offer his hand to the other man who was still watching him suspiciously. Still, he felt the need to at least acknowledge Ito, and he made sure that he was looking at the older man as he added softly. “Thank you, without you, I wouldn’t be able to try and get back to my family.” As much as he had faith in his own strength, he knew that without their help he might well not have woken up again. There was a flicker of surprise in Ito’s dark grey eyes at his words, and the Dragon-slayer tensed as the older man suddenly moved towards him with an unreadable expression.

“Here,” Ito said softly, and Natsu froze in surprise as he realised that he was being offered what looked like a makeshift bag. Hesitantly he accepted it, seeing that Hiro looked just as surprised as he felt by this development, and his eyes widened as he peered inside and found a small assortment of medical supplies and a water bottle. Blinking he lifted his head to look at Ito, opening his mouth to thank him, not understanding what had changed his mind but he was cut off before he could say anything. “Make sure you get home.” Unable to think of anything to do Natsu simply nodded, hoping that his expression was enough to convey his gratitude as he closed the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

   Without another word, the pair turned away and headed into the trees, and Natsu watched until they were out of sight, hoping that they would manage to get to safety after they’d risked so much to help a complete stranger. When he could no longer hear them even with his advanced hearing, he turned away with a determined expression, one hand slipping down to pat the bag of supplies before he headed off in the opposite direction.

_No matter what I’m going to get home. I promise…_

**

Several hours later:

   Despite his injuries, Natsu felt like he was making fairly good time, despite having to take shelter a couple of times as search parties passed too close to him for comfort, well aware that fighting would be a stupid idea at this time. Especially when he contemplated the task ahead of him, well aware that there was no way that his luck was going to be able to hold for the entire journey across Seven, not with the distance he had to cross and the chaos that was likely growing by the day. A small part of him wondered whether he should have gone with Hiro and Ito, but he quickly dismissed that thought as he glanced down at his wedding ring once more. He could and would face whatever lay before him as long as it meant that he could back to his family.

   After a brief rest after the last near miss, he forced himself to move on, well aware that it would be daylight soon, and he needed to find both food and a safe place to hole up for a few hours. As much as he hated the thought of losing more time to rest, he knew that Hiro had been correct to say that it was safer to travel at night and that he would run out of strength long before the border unless he made sure to take the time to rest. A thought that was reinforced by the fresh pain that lanced through his stomach as he stumbled over an uneven piece of ground, and he stifled a curse as he managed to steady himself by grabbing a tree. Wishing that he dared light a fist to give himself some light, but there was no way the hunting parties would be able to ignore a light bobbing through the trees, and so he resigned himself to stumbling forward blindly.

   He’d been travelling for about half an hour when he froze as he caught the sound of raised voices in the distance, and he cursed as he realised that he had let his guard down a little, thinking that there might be less risk at this time of night. He was about to turn around and take a different path when a loud cry caught his ears, and he tensed, paling as he realised that it was a child crying out. _Sakura. Mercury…_ Before he’d even realised what he was doing, he was heading in the direction of the noise, silently cursing himself for being an idiot and taking such a risk when he had people waiting for him, but he couldn’t convince himself to turn away.

   It didn’t take him long to see lights through the trees, and he ducked down and continued more slowly on hands and knees, each movement sending a spike of pain through his stomach. _What the hell am I doing? All it takes is one person spotting me, and I’m screwed_ …. He faltered for a minute at that thought, his gaze drifting to his wedding band before he shook his head determinedly and continued to move forward. Finally, he was close enough to see what was going on, and he immediately took shelter behind a bush, watching with narrowed eyes as soldiers dressed the same as the ones that had attacked him dragged people out of the houses in what appeared to be a small hamlet. _Why are they attacking their own people?_ He thought with a soft growl as he watched one man being brought down with a sharp blow to his temple, a woman who must’ve been his wife screaming out as she fought to get to him, and Natsu felt his magic beginning to stir as his temper rose.

    Before he could give in to the temptation to do anything though there was a sharp cry, and he watched wide-eyed as a young girl darted in between the downed man and the soldier who’d brought him down. It was clear that she was terrified, and by the marks on her dress she had already been caught in a scuffle, but there was a determined expression on her face as she held her arms out.

“Stay away from my father!”

“Get out the way brat,” the soldier snarled, and Natsu was up and moving as he saw him raising his weapon once more. But he froze as the girl slammed her hands together, green light spilling out around her and his mouth dropped open in comprehension as he saw the vines she’d summoned slamming into the soldier and flinging him backwards. _A mage? They’re even hunting their own mages?_ The light had attracted the attention of the other soldiers, and he groaned as he realised that they were beginning to close in on the girl, and he could tell that from the way she was wavering, that the outburst had drained most of her strength.

“Lea run!” A boy that looked similar enough to have been her brother darted up to her, followed by three more children. “Come on we’re getting out of here!” He knew even before the boy lifted his hand that they were all mages, and he knew that there was no way the soldiers were going to be able to resist the lure of five mages no matter how young they were. More vines whipped through the air as the boy fought to clear a path, but the soldiers were prepared this time, and Natsu knew that it wouldn’t take them long to hack through the obstacle. And it was clear that the effort of maintaining the magic was slowing the boy as he tried to shepherd the younger children ahead of himself, but it wasn’t going to be enough as Natsu could see more soldiers moving around to flank them. _I have to stop this…_

“GET BACK HERE YOU BRATS!”

“GET THEM!” That order coincided with the moment that the boy’s magic failed, and Natsu was up and moving even before the soldiers could respond to the shout.

“Mira’s going to kill me,” Natsu muttered under his breath as he dashed forwards, but even that thought wasn’t enough to stay his hand. If it had been adults then maybe he could have pushed onwards and ignored what was happening, but there was no way he could turn his back on kids. His eyes narrowing at the thought that if this had occurred years before it could have been his friends in that situation, or that it could be his own children in that situation. “Sorry, I can’t let you take them!” He called loudly, dropping into a ready stance as all activity came to an abrupt halt as the soldiers all turned in his direction, and ignoring the voice that sounded suspiciously like his wife’s which was screaming at him to get out of there he summoned his flames.


	9. 5: Part 3

   Natsu’s chest was heaving, his breath turning to steam above him as he stared up the sky overhead, his entire body a mass of pain and he sighed before closing his eyes. It had been a harder battle than he’d anticipated. Apparently, their desperation to catch mages was far stronger than he’d believed and they hadn’t seemed to care that their own comrades were falling. It had taken all his self-control not to take it too far, a task made more difficult by the fact that they had continued to target the children while fighting him, and hearing their cries had brought back bad memories. But he was a Fairy Tail mage first and foremost, and while he knew that most people would’ve considered it justified, he didn’t want to go against their creed or give anyone a valid reason to arrest him.

   The soldiers were currently piled up in one of the farm’s outhouses, and he doubted that any of them would be capable of moving any time soon, although he had also taken the precaution of barricading them in before he’d collapsed in an exhausted heap. His original injury was a line of fire across his abdomen, and he was covered in fresh cuts and bruises, some of them deep enough that he would need to deal with them before moving and he could taste blood on his lips. _Mira really is going to kill me_. A wry smile twisted his lips as he imagined her standing in front of him, hands on her hips and a hint of the demon showing through as it always did when she was really mad with him. _I miss her…_

“Hey, Mister?” A timid voice shattered his daydream, and he reluctantly forced his eyes open, blinking as he found all five of the children gathered around him, studying him with a mixture of concern and wariness. “Are you okay?” It was the oldest boy speaking, and Natsu smiled as he realised that he was standing slightly in front of his sister, his expression softening when she peered around her brother, eyes red from crying.

“I’m fine,” he replied quietly, slowly pushing himself up into a seated position and studying them curiously, before turning his head as he caught the sound of sobbing and his heart clenched as he realised the woman was crouched down beside their father. “Are any of you injured?” He asked, realising that the woman was in no state to check on them right now, his exhaustion fading to a background hum now that he had something to focus on.

“We’re fine,” the oldest replied, his voice cracking in the middle and tears on his cheeks belying his words and Natsu sighed, his gaze drifting around the area. _Sure you are_. He knew that it would be a long time before they were ‘fine’ if they ever were and his gaze shifted back to their mother. Right now she was what they needed, not some beaten up stranger who had just charged into the middle of the chaos and added to the devastation that was all that remained of the farmyard and he worried his bottom lip for a moment before turning back to the boy.

“Can you tell me your mum’s name?”

“Maya…”

“Okay, why don’t you guys go and sit over there and I’ll go and talk to her,” Natsu suggested softly. Realising that they were all dead on their feet and knowing that it was better for them not to be caught up in the conversation to come, especially as he had no idea how their mother was going to react.

“But…” Lea spoke up her voice trembling wildly as she glanced across at her parents, fresh tears cascading down her cheeks as she clutched at her brother. “We…” Natsu’s expression softened, understanding what she meant. _We need to say goodbye…_

“Let me talk to her first,” he said softly as he rose to his feet, waiting patiently until he got a reluctant nod of agreement from both of them, the older boy shepherding them over towards the farmhouse as he turned to look across at the woman and his heart clenched. That was a pain that he never wanted to experience and that he hoped Mira wasn’t going to have to experience anytime soon, his hands curling into fists as he moved forwards cautiously.

   She had gone quiet by the time he had reached her, but she gave no indication of being aware that he was there and he cautiously crouched down a short distance away, his nose wrinkling at the smell of blood in the air. The blow to the temple he had witnessed earlier seemed to have been the only attack which was a small mercy, but it had been fatal, and the man’s expression was trapped in one of pain and fear. _They did this to their own people._ The same anger that had propelled him into taking action earlier was burning in his chest once more, and he forced himself to take a deep breath before speaking, well aware that the last thing she needed right now was to be faced with his temper.

“Hi Maya,” he greeted softly, catching the soft intake of breath that proved she was aware of his presence, although her head was still bowed and her gaze fixated on her husband. “My name is Natsu, can you look at me?” It was cruel in a way, but he needed to snap her out of her grieving because it just wasn’t safe enough for them to linger here too long, especially as sooner or later someone would come looking for the missing soldiers. “Maya?” He pressed when there was no response, and slowly she lifted his head and turned to look at him, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

“They killed him…”

“I know,” Natsu said softly, hesitating for a moment before closing the distance between them and gingerly wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she began to sob again at his words, and he sighed as he glanced down at the still form in front of them. It was easy to see where Lea and her brother had got their looks from, and he closed his eyes, well aware that this wasn’t going to be a loss they were going to recover from anytime soon. “I know, but Maya, the children are still alive. They’re still here, and they need you.” Her head came up at his words, instinctively seeking out the children and he was relieved by the evidence that she wasn’t too far gone in her grief. “See?”

“I…” Slowly her eyes seemed to focus, and he let out a sigh of relief although he knew that the grief was far from gone. However, the sight of the children seemed to have given her new strength, and her voice grew stronger as she continued. “They were after the children. We had heard what was happening, but we thought we might be safe out here.” _You’re not the only one_ , he thought with a sigh, the whole point of going across the countryside had been to try and avoid danger, but as always his luck seemed to be determined to land him in trouble.

“They’re all magical?” He asked, hoping to keep her talking and get her more grounded in the present, glancing around warily and scanning the surrounding trees for any sign of movement before refocusing on Maya as she sagged slightly against him.

“Lea and Mikael are my children, the others are orphans,” she replied softly, and Natsu’s eyes narrowed at that news, and he glanced across at the children. While Lea and the oldest boy - Mikael was the most visibly upset, it was clear that the others had been a major part of the family as they were all teary, shooting frequent glances in their direction and his heart ached for them. He knew the pain of losing a parent, and how in a way it was even worse when it was an adoptive parent. _Igneel…_ “Magic was never taken well in these parts, but we took them in as we already had magical children.”

“What are their names?” Natsu forced himself to ask, dark memories threatening to resurface at her words and he knew that he couldn’t afford to get caught up in that right now, especially as Mira wasn’t there to pull him out of it.

“Shion, Lyra and Aki,” she replied softly, and he could hear the affection in her voice, and it helped drive the darkness out of his thoughts. These children had had a different experience than him. They had a family that loved them and their magic, even if there wasn’t blood between them and he felt calmer as she continued. “They didn’t deserve this. Milo didn’t deserve this.”

“None of you did,” Natsu pointed out quietly.

“You’re a mage too? Is that why you helped us?”

“One of the reasons,” Natsu admitted, and feeling her questioning gaze he glanced at the guild mark on his arm, seeing her eyes widening as she followed his gaze. “I’m from Fiore. I couldn’t believe they were actually hunting their own people, and I couldn’t just ignore that....” _I couldn’t turn my back again…_

“They want an army, a magical army,” Maya’s voice was little more than a snarl now, anger breaking through her grief, and her eyes were flashing as she met his gaze. “My children aren’t going to become soldiers. We told them that, and this is what we got,” her hand trembled as she gestured at the mess that had been made of her home, before her gaze returned to her husband, fresh tears falling as she lowered her hand to brush her fingers against his cheek. “If they send reinforcements, or come back…”

“Is there anywhere safe you can go?” Natsu asked.

“Not anymore,” Maya replied softly as she gestured towards her husband, tears still trickling down her cheeks before her gaze drifted across to where the children were sat in a huddled group, and her tone was one of defeat as she continued. “They’ll track us down sooner or later, and…”

“Then come with me,” Natsu cut across her, ignoring the quiet voice in the back of his mind that was telling him that this was a bad idea…it was hard enough moving across country with just himself, it was going to be even worse with six more people in tow. But they can’t stay here, and I can’t leave them behind, he sighed before following her gaze towards the children, for a moment seeing flashes of pink and silvery hair among them and he closed his eyes for a moment before turning back to her. “I can’t promise you safety, but you will stand more of a chance if we stick together.”

“But, why?”

“I have children,” Natsu’s gaze was distant now, his thoughts miles away in the guild, and there was a wistful note to his voice as he continued. “Twins, both of them are magical, and the thought of them being hunted down because of that…” Flames flickered weakly around his hands for a moment, the mere thought of it making his stomach roll and it was only when she laid a comforting hand on his arm that he managed to quell the flames, and his eyes were fierce as he glanced at her. “I can’t and won’t leave children in that situation.”

“I’m not magical though, and I will just slow you down,” she muttered softly, her gaze drifting back to her husband and Natsu knew that she was contemplating staying behind with him and his expression darkened.

“Those children don’t need you to be a mage,” Natsu pointed out sharply, gesturing to where Lea and Mikael were wrapped in each other’s arms, the others trying to comfort them. “They need you to be a mother. I can maybe protect them, but I can’t give them that. They need you.” There was a startled expression on her face as she looked up at him, and he held still as she studied him with a searching expression for a moment before finally nodding.

“Thank you.”

****

The next morning:

   They rose at the crack of dawn the following day. Natsu hadn’t been happy about staying in the same place, but the children had been in no state to travel, and he hadn’t been able to deny Maya the chance to bury her husband. Still, none of them had got much rest, the children disturbed by nightmares after everything had happened, while Natsu had alternated with Maya to keep watch, and he’d given up on sleep a few hours ago when the first of the soldiers had stirred. Even now he could hear them banging around in the outhouse, trying to find a way to escape, which was why he was stood out in the farmyard while the others packed what they could, his eyes narrowed as he scanned their surroundings.

“Mr Dragneel…” He turned at the quiet call, frowning slightly at the name and sighing as he spotted Maya heading towards him. The children had taken to calling him Natsu with ease, although there was a certain wariness when they talked to him, not that he could blame them after what they’d been through, but Maya seemed determined to treat him formally, and not just because he was a stranger. He knew that she was still waiting for him to turn around and change his mind about helping them.

“Natsu,” he corrected her gently, hiding his frown as he offered her a small smile, wincing as it tugged on his split lip. “Please, calling me that makes me feel old.” _And it reminds me that I’m not at home_. Generally, Mira was the only one to call him that, either when teasing him or when she was truly furious with him, and his heart ached to hear it coming from someone else.

“Sorry,” Maya had apparently caught something in his expression, and she hesitated for a moment before holding a lacrima out towards him. “I-I wanted to give you this.” Natsu blinked before glancing down at what she was offering him, and his eyes widened, and his mouth went dry.

“Is that…?”

“A communication lacrima,” she nodded, fingers tightening around the orb for a moment. “Milo bought it so that we could call for help if anything happened.” Fresh tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back as she glanced around at the devastated farm-yard, a somewhat bitter smile spreading across her lips as she forced herself to continue. “He said if we were going to live in the middle of nowhere we needed a back-up plan, but I guess he never imagined something like this happening. But you could use it, so maybe it’s not all bad.”

“But…”

“You saved my children,” her voice was firmer now, steady in a way that it hadn’t been the night before and he couldn’t help but marvel at her strength. “And you’re risking yourself to get us out of here, I wanted to at least give you a way to speak to your family.”

“I…” Part of him still wanted to protest, but there was something in her gaze that made his words die on his tongue, and slowly he reached out to take the lacrima. Warmth blossoming in his chest at the thought of being able to see his family, and his own eyes were stinging as he whispered. “Thank you.” She managed a proper smile at that, patting his hand before turning back towards the farmhouse.

“I’m going to help the children finish packing. You should call your family,” she added over her shoulder as she walked away, and Natsu nodded silently as his gaze returned to the precious lacrima in his hand and his fingers tightened around it.

_Mira…_

**

   Lisanna had gone to the guild early to help set up the bar, and she was busy tidying up behind the bar, getting ready to hand over to Kinana so that she could go and help Mira with the twins when the communication lacrima began to flash red, warning her of an incoming call on the emergency line. The glass she was cleaning slipped through her hands, completely forgotten as hope surged through her. The others who had gone to the border to find out what was happening had taken normal communication orbs with them, which meant that this could be… _Natsu._ She paid no mind to the silence that had fallen around her, her fingers trembling as she fumbled to accept the call and her breath caught for a moment as she found herself staring at Natsu. A bloodied and battered looking Natsu, and her heart clenched at the sight.

_Natsu…_

“Natsu!” She squealed without thought, and immediately there was a clamour behind her as everyone tried to gather around, making it utterly impossible for her to make out what the Dragon-slayer was trying to say and she shot a desperate glance towards Makarov who had managed to make it behind the bar as well.

“SILENCE!” He roared, and the guild immediately fell silent. “Macao go and fetch Mira, and the rest of you stay quiet,” he ordered more quietly before his expression softened as he moved forwards so that Natsu would be able to see him, although there was hardness to his eyes as he took in the state the Dragon-slayer was in. His face was covered in scrapes and bruises, and he seemed unaware of the blood trickling down his chin from a split lip.

“Hey, Gramps,” Natsu’s voice was rough with exhaustion, and there were shadows in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, but he still managed a small grin for the Guild-Master.

“Natsu…” There was a lot he wanted to say to the Dragon-slayer. While he had been doing his best to stay calm and collected, especially for the sake of Mira and the twins, he had been quietly terrified that he might not get to see this brat again and there was a lump in his throat as he forced himself to focus on the more important issue. “Where are you?”

“I’m still stuck in Severn, I’m not sure exactly where I am at the moment though as I’ve been avoiding…”

“Natsu?” Makarov asked with a frown as the Dragon-slayer glanced up with a scowl, tension practically radiating from him and Lisanna shifted uneasily, catching the sound of soft voices coming through the lacrima before Natsu visibly relaxed and turned his attention back to the lacrima.

“Sorry,” he muttered, hesitating for a moment before admitting softly. “I’m not in the safest place at the moment. I’ve been sticking to back routes as much as possible, and I’ve had to take detours to avoid patrols…most of the time.”

“All right,” Makarov had noticed the slight hesitation at the last bit, and the fresh bruises and blood on the Dragon-slayer’s face were enough to tell him that he’d had to fight at least once. Remembering what Mira had said about the Fire mage being injured before all this had kicked off, he leant forward in concern. “Where else are you injured?” Natsu immediately adopted a blank expression, but the way he shifted uneasily was more than enough to tell the older man that he probably wouldn’t like the answer to that question. “Natsu…?”

“Don’t worry about it, there’s not much you can do from there anyway,” Natsu replied with a shrug, the effect ruined by the pain that flickered across his face before he could hide it, and Makarov felt his concern grow. Natsu had always had a tendency to play down his own injuries, and if he thought it would make it easier on them, he would probably lie with a grin on his face and say he was fine even if he was bleeding out. “Is Mira there?” There was a desperation to the quiet question, that stopped him from trying to demand any further answers and he nodded hastily.

“She’s coming. Natsu…”

“What’s the situation at the border?” The Dragon-slayer asked, clearly trying to change the topic and Makarov sighed before deciding to play along with him for the time being, hoping that Mira would be able to get a proper answer from him. “The King has sealed them,” he replied, catching the way Natsu stilled at his answer, and the fear in the olive eyes and he tried to reassure the younger man that it wasn’t completely hopeless. “We’ve got people there though so if you can just get there…” He knew that he was asking a hell of a lot, especially given Natsu’s current condition and the fact that they had no idea just how far he still had to go.

“I’m trying,” Natsu grumbled, before glancing off into the distant, a frown forming as he added under his breath. “Although it might’ve just got a lot more complicated.”

   Makarov wasn’t given a chance to ask what that worrying statement meant, as Mira suddenly appeared, nearly knocking him over as she lunged for the communication orb, her cheeks already damp with tears as she grasped it. She hadn’t been able to believe it when Macao had burst in to tell her Natsu was on the orb, and her heart was hammering in her chest as she found herself staring at her husband, relief to see him warring with concern over the state he was in and her voice trembled as she breathed out his name.

“Natsu…”

“Mira…” Natsu whispered sounding just as shaky, and his eyes were suspiciously damp as he stretched his hand out towards the lacrima, the cool surface of the orb reminding him that they were miles apart and he sniffled before wiping his eyes with a shaky hand. “Mira…”

“Where are you? Are you okay?” There were a hundred and one questions on the tip of her tongue, fresh tears falling as she stared at his injuries, barely aware of the way her magic was beginning to crackle in the air around them. _Someone hurt him, again…_ She had known that it was unlikely that he was going to be able to avoid all the trouble, but that didn’t make it any easier to see the state of him, and she could see the darkness in his eyes, and it brought back unpleasant memories of when they had learnt about his childhood. _Natsu_ …

“I’m okay,” Natsu reassured her, and she shot him a nasty glare at the blatant lie, and he swallowed nervously before admitting reluctantly. “I’ve been better, but I’m still heading home. Mira…I…” He trailed off, unable to put into words how much he wanted to be home with her and the twins, and how much he had missed them. “Sakura, and Mercury…”

“I know,” she whispered, not needing to hear the words to know what he meant, and she managed a weak smile for him. “We miss you too.” I’ve been so worried, the words were there on the end of her tongue, but she held them back, knowing that at the moment all they were going to do was add to the weight of his shoulders. “We’re waiting for you…”

“Can I…” Natsu had been about to ask to see the twins when he tensed again, and she opened her mouth to ask what was happening when she heard frightened voices in the background. Children’s voices and she knew the moment that his eyes met hers what he was going to say. “I’ve got to go.”

“Natsu!”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and there was a longing look in his eyes as he brushed his fingers against the lacrima once more, and she found herself reaching out to him as well, missing his warmth as all she felt was the cool surface of the lacrima. “I’ll try and call again soon, and I am coming home,” he added as he rose to his feet, and his voice dropped slightly as he held her gaze. “I promise.”

“But…” She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but she wasn’t ready to say goodbye. However, he never got a chance to reply as the orb went dark a moment later, leaving her with a brief glimpse of the alarmed expression that had appeared on his face a split-second before. “NATSU! Natsu…” She knew that it was too late, and her legs gave way beneath her as she began to sob. She had seen him for herself and spoken to him, but it wasn’t enough, and she turned to bury her face against Lisanna as her sister dropped down to wrap her up in a tight hug.

_Natsu, please…I need you home, no, we need you home._

**

   Natsu rubbed a hand roughly across his cheeks, trying to obliterate the evidence of his tears before he turned to look at Mikael who had come running up to him with a frightened expression on his face.

“What is it?” His voice came out far more even that he had expected, although his hand was trembling as he tucked the lacrima away into his bag. _Mira_. He could have done with hours more of seeing her face and hearing her voice, and there was a dull ache in his chest as he wished that he’d had a chance to see the twins. _But they’re waiting for me to come home…_

“There’s a patrol heading in this direction.”

“Damn,” Natsu cursed, shooting a slightly guilty at the boy, but Mikael didn’t seem to have noticed, and the Dragon-slayer’s expression softened as he realized that the boy was trembling violently. “Fetch your mother and the others, we need to get away from the farm.” Maya had told him the night before that their closest neighbors were a couple of miles away, which meant that if this was a search party, the farmhouse was likely to be one of the first places they checked. “Mikael!” He barked when the boy didn’t seem to have heard him, and with a jerky nod the boy turned and bolted back towards the house as fast he could go. It really has got more complicated, he thought with a sigh before moving across to make sure the outhouse was still secured, the last thing they need was to be caught between two groups of soldiers.

   The barrier was still in place, although from the sound of it all of them were awake now, and he was hard pressed not to give in to the temptation not to go too far when he heard the threats they were shouting. Flames engulfed his hands, and he found himself taking a step towards the door, only to halt as he heard Maya and the children coming out of the house and he forced his magic back inside before moving across to join them. He had just reached them when his ears picked up on the sound of voices moving in their direction, and he cursed again, wondering just who on earth he had pissed off to be landed with this kind of luck.

“Follow me,” he ordered, herding them in the opposite direction to the voices. There was no way they were going to get away completely, and he didn’t want to risk their movement being noticed so they needed to hide until the patrol was gone and then they could work out precisely what the plan was. Thankfully they followed him without a hint of complaint, although he caught Maya throwing a grief-stricken look back towards her home. However, before he could say anything, she had squared her shoulders and turned back, reaching out to take Shion’s hand when the younger boy stumbled slightly, her face taking on a determined set.

   The farmhouse had just passed out of sight when Natsu got them to take refuge in a thick copse of bushes, warning them to stay quiet, as he took advantage of his sharpened hearing to focus on what was happening behind him. Not that it was hard to miss the chaos that erupted a few minutes later, and he was unaware of the snarl tugging on his lips as he caught the frantic curses when the soldiers he’d thought were released.

“Come on we need to move,” Natsu hissed, wanting to curse the soldiers’ desperation as he realised that they weren’t even going to take the time to deal with injuries before searching for them. _So much for setting out with an actual plan_ , he thought bitterly as he turned around to look at his companions, seeing the fear in their faces and hoping that none of his own trepidation was showing through. His body was still a mass of pain as they’d not had much in the way of medical supplies and he’d insisted on holding on to them in case things got worse…but that meant he really wasn’t up for another fight at the moment.

“Where are we going?” Maya asked quietly.

“For now let’s just get away from here,” Natsu replied urgently, but he knew that she needed to know more than that. That they all needed to know that there was something more waiting for them, and he offered them a fleeting smile as he added softly. “After that, we’ll work on a plan, but we’re aiming for Fiore.” _For home_.  He pushed that thought aside, for the time being, feeling a little guilty for thinking like that considering they were about to leave their home behind. Seeing that his response seemed to have satisfied Maya for now, he cautiously rose to his feet. “Come on, and stay low,” he added, gesturing for Maya to lead the way for now so that he could bring up the rear, shooting an anxious glance back towards the farmhouse as the group began to move forward.

_Please, let us have a little bit of luck._


End file.
